Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in the Andaman Islands, India

Objectives: To investigate an outbreak of Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Andaman Islands during 2013. Methods: Epidemiological, clinical data and samples were collected from HFMD patients who attended selected hospitals. Data were analyzed and samples were processed for detection of Enterovirus and further confirmed by sequencing. Serotype-specific molecular typing was also done to identify the etiological agent. Results: Of the 246 suspected patients, most were affected in August 2013 (92/246, 37.4%). Fever (71.2%) associated with typical HFMD rashes (100%) were the most common presenting symptoms and rashes were mostly distributed on hands (100%), legs (92%), mouth (77%), and buttocks (52.8%). All cases were reported as mild and recovered completely without any complications. Enterovirus was detected in 63 cases (50.4%). Conclusion: HFMD was mild, mostly reported in children <60 months of age, and in boys. Coxsackie virusA16 was found to be the only etiological agent for this specific outbreak.