Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common infectious disease caused by enteroviruses. The main symptoms are rashes on the hands, feet, mouth and perianal area, and herpes on the oral mucosa. In a few children, it can cause complications such as myocarditis, pulmonary edema and aseptic meningoencephalitis. In individual critically ill children, the disease progresses rapidly and neurogenic pulmonary edema can occur, leading to death. HFMD is caused by a variety of (types of) enteroviruses. Coxsackievirus type A16 (CoxA16) and enterovirus 71 (EV71) are the most common. Infectious agents of HFMD Children with HFMD and asymptomatic persons with the virus are the main sources of infection. Patients often carry large amounts of virus in their skin rashes or blisters, oral secretions, and feces. The infection is strongest in the first week of illness. Asymptomatic carriers of the virus play a significant role in HFMD outbreaks. These individuals (after recessive or overt infection) do not show appropriate symptoms and do not attract the attention of the public or physicians, but they contain large amounts of enteroviruses that can cause HFMD and are highly susceptible to transmission to healthy susceptible populations. For example, asymptomatic adults with the virus can transmit the virus to infants and children at home. The transmission of HFMD 1, direct contact transmission: feces, skin rashes or blisters broken and the virus in the mouth can directly contaminate the people they come into contact with. 2.Transmission through the gastrointestinal tract: feces, skin rash or blister breaks and the virus in the mouth can contaminate items in the environment, towels, cups, milk utensils, tableware, toys, clothing, bedding, food, water, etc., contaminated with intestinal viruses can transmit the virus by hand – mouth. 3.Transmission via respiratory tract: Patients spread the virus through droplets in the air by talking loudly, coughing, sneezing, etc. When the virus in the air reaches a high concentration, it will be spread to healthy susceptible persons in the same environment. 4, cross-infection in hospitals: consulting rooms or waiting areas where patients with HFMD have been admitted are prone to cross-infection among patients if ventilation is poor and public facilities cannot be disinfected in a timely manner. Infection with HFMD caused by substandard disinfection of oral instruments has also been reported. The susceptible population of HFMD Hand, foot and mouth disease can be contracted by people of any age during an epidemic outbreak. The most susceptible group is preschool children: the immune system of preschool children (3-6 years old) is not well developed and their resistance to pathogenic microorganisms is poorer than that of adults; nurseries, kindergartens, schools, etc. are the places where these children gather with the highest density; their hygiene habits are still poor and toys are often shared; in addition, the incubation period and prodromal phase of HFMD are not obvious and are easily misdiagnosed; therefore, HFMD is easily Therefore, HFMD spreads rapidly in nurseries, kindergartens, and schools. Adults are also at risk of developing HFMD: most adults acquire the appropriate antibodies by recessive infection, and adults with poorer immunity can develop the disease as children do. The skin symptoms of HFMD in adults are similar to those in children, and some symptoms can be even more severe than in children. The epidemiological pattern of HFMD 1. No obvious regional: Due to the complex transmission route and rapid transmission, a pandemic may occur within a relatively short period of time. Often there is a regular peak in 2 to 3 years. Outbreak epidemics occur almost every year in all parts of the world, mostly confined to a certain area, may also cause a large-scale epidemic. 2, more obvious seasonality: recent years epidemic report data show that hand, foot and mouth disease can occur in all seasons, but because the intestinal virus is more adapted to the humid, warm environment, so the incidence is higher in spring, summer and autumn. Data from the CDC around the world in recent years show that the incidence of hand, foot and mouth disease in the form of only one peak different from the past, presenting two peak incidence – June and December, so winter can not ignore prevention! 3, crowd aggregation: outbreak epidemic, kindergartens, nurseries, schools and other crowded public places as the main epidemic area, showing the phenomenon of group morbidity. Preventive measures for hand, foot and mouth disease 1, the key to preventing hand, foot and mouth disease is to pay attention to family and surrounding environmental health, personal hygiene. Wash your hands with soap or hand sanitizer before and after meals and after going out; do not drink raw water and do not eat raw and cold food; ventilate your living room frequently; and dry your clothes and blankets diligently. During the epidemic period, do not take children to crowded public places with poor air circulation, and avoid contact with sick children. 2, during the epidemic period, you can check the child’s skin (mainly the palms of the hands and feet) and mouth every morning for abnormalities, pay attention to the changes in the child’s body temperature, and isolate and treat the sick in a timely manner. 3, family prevention, if there is no child at home with HFMD, the general family prevention methods can be used, no need to use disinfectants. If a child has HFMD at home, the following methods can be used to disinfect: soak pacifiers, bottles, tableware, towels and other items in hot water above 50℃ for 30min or boil them for 3min; use disinfectants containing chlorine (84 disinfectant or bleach) to clean contaminated toys, tables, chairs and clothes every day according to the instructions; children’s sputum, saliva and feces, wiping paper, etc. are best poured into an appropriate amount of disinfectant Stir and disinfect before throwing into the toilet.