Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Thailand not new strains

BANGKOK, July 18 – The cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) currently being found in Thailand are neither new strains nor mutations, according to Emerging Infectious Diseases Bureau director and Disease Control Department spokesman Dr Rungruang Kitpati.

The HFMD strains which are currently contagious in Thailand is Enterovirus 71, Coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16), and Coxsackievirus A6 (CVA6). The latter is spreading most in Thailand and considered normal. CVA6 is not fatal, but the viruses are airborne and change every year, he noted.

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