Toddlers aged 6 months to 2 years most at risk of complications from EV-A71 virus
Infants aged between six months and two years can be at risk of complications from Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) infections, a top virologist warned on Monday.
In a Facebook post, Dr Yong Poovorawan explained that apart from causing hand, foot and mouth disease, EV-A71 can also cause encephalitis and myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).
He said these two conditions caused by EV-A71 have mostly been found in infants aged six months to two years.
“We have lost many children to these complications over the past 10 years,” he said, adding that treatment has improved thanks to Intravenous Immunoglobulin therapy.
A study on infants’ immunity against the EV-A71 B5 subvariant, which has been found in Thailand, learned that children have 80 per cent immunity against the virus until they are six months old.
"This is why infants aged six months and above are most at risk,” he said, adding that infants should be vaccinated against the virus.
He added that China was already administering the two-dose vaccine against EV-A71 C4 subvariant to children aged six months or above at a month-long interval.
He also said that an initial trial of the Taiwan-produced EV-A71 vaccine against the B4 variant has been successful in both Taiwan and Vietnam. However, he said, the vaccine has not been registered yet because it is under a third clinical trial.
