Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common childhood viral infection, characterised by a brief febrile illness, vesicular rashes on the hands and feet and mouth ulcers. HFMD is endemic in Singapore, with more than 50% of cases occurring in children below 5 years of age.1 Enterovirus 71 (EV71), coxsackievirus A6 (CA6) and A16 (CA16) were the major enteroviruses causing nationwide HFMD epidemics in Singapore in recent years. We estimated the basic reproduction number (R0), which measures the infectiousness of a pathogen in a given population, of these enteroviruses to have a better understanding of the transmission dynamics.
Objective
To estimate the basic reproduction number of enterovirus 71, coxsackievirus A6 and A16 in hand, foot, and mouth disease outbreaks in Singapore, for a better understanding of the transmission dynamics of these enteroviruses.