New Vaccine Developed for Food and Mouth Disease
- By BSTQ Staff
The first vaccine to protect children against the enterovirus 71, or EV71, that causes the common and sometimes deadly hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has been developed by Chinese scientists at Beijing Vigoo Biological. A trial of the vaccine took place at four sites across China involving 10,245 babies and children aged 6 months to 35 months who were randomly assigned to receive two doses of the vaccine or two doses of a placebo. The results, which were published in the May 28 issue of The Lancet, showed that the vaccine was 90 percent protective against EV71-associated HFMD, with 80.4 percent protection for at least 12 months. Until now, there have been no effective vaccines against EV71.
Since the EV71 virus was discovered in 1969, it has caused major outbreaks of HFMD around the world, affecting mostly children. In recent years, large increases in the number of cases have occurred in Asia. A large outbreak of HFMD infected approximately 35,000 people and killed 17 in China’s Hunan province in June 2012. The EV71 and several other viruses, one of which is called coxsackievirus A 16, which is often found circulating with EV71, can cause HFMD. The researchers cautioned that there was no evidence this vaccine would cross-protect against that virus.
