Hand, foot, and mouth disease outbreak by Coxsackievirus A6 during COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Introduction: Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is an acute febrile illness characterized by fever; sore throat; and vesicular eruptions on the hands, feet, and oral mucosa. Outbreaks of HFMD in children aged <5 years have been reported worldwide and the major causative agents are Coxsackievirus (CV)A16, enterovirus (EV)-A71 and recently CVA6. Aim and methods: The aim of this study was to investigated a large outbreak of Hand, foot, and mouth disease during COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 from clinical samples of 315 suspected cases, in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Diagnostic evaluation was performed by RT-qPCR, culture cell isolation and serological neutralization assay. EV-positive were genotyped by partial VP1 genome sequencing. Results: One hundred and forty-nine cases analyzed were positive for enterovirus (47.3%; n = 149/315) by neutralizing test (n = 10 patients) and RT-qPCR (n = 139 patients), and identified as CVA6 sub-lineage D3 by analysis of VP1 partial sequences. Conclusions: This finding indicated the reemergence of CVA6 in HFMD, soon after the gradual easing of non-pharmaceutical interventions during-pandemic COVID-19 and the relevance of continued surveillance of circulating enterovirus types in the post-COVID pandemic era.

Automated summary

This study investigated a large outbreak of Hand, foot, and mouth disease during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, and found the reemergence of CVA6 in HFMD. It highlights the importance of continued surveillance of circulating enterovirus types in the post-COVID pandemic era.