China declared a vaccine for hand-foot-mouth disease

Scientists in China claim to have developed the first vaccine capable of preventing hand, foot, and mouth disease in children.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is an infection that causes a rash on the hands, feet and painful sores in the mouth. In some cases, the disease also leads to complications such as brain infection, which can be fatal.

Results of a trial of about 10,000 children showed that Chinese vaccines are up to 90% effective against one of the viruses that cause hand, foot, and mouth disease. However, this vaccine is not able to prevent the remaining viruses.

Infection causes a rash on the hands and feet as well as mouth ulcers.(Photo: Top News)

According to a research report published in the Lancet medical journal, an outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth in 2009 in China attacked 1.2 million people. Nearly 14,000 people have complicated complications and 353 deaths.

Researchers in Jiangsu province and China's Beijing capital have tested a new vaccine, which was made from inactivated enterovirus 71 (EV71) .

"The EV71 infection is of particular interest because it can cause serious hand, foot and mouth disease and even death in children. The EV71 virus vaccine can help prevent severe cases or hospitalized, " said researchers.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is also caused by many other viruses, such as Coxsackievirus A16 or even other EV71 strains, so the new vaccine cannot eliminate the disease completely. Chinese manufacturers themselves recommend, the EV71 vaccine may not be of much help in reducing the total number of hand, foot, and mouth cases, even if it is widely vaccinated for children all over. world.

Commenting on the study, Dr. Nigel Crawford and Dr. Steve Graham of the University of Melbourne (Australia) said that the new vaccine was designed to prevent a strain of dominant viruses in China.

"The important effect of this vaccine would be to reduce the number of hospitalized hands, feet, and mouths - an extremely significant use of many vaccines. The next step would be to assess the feasibility examination of the introduction of EV71 vaccine into China's national vaccination program, " one of the two experts said.