It's not mycoplasma pneumonia! It's contagious! A local disease control center released

The topic "Recent children's fever may be due to infection with Coxsackie virus" became a hot search.

Many parents are confused: What kind of virus is this? Is it contagious? How to prevent it?

Coxsackievirus is not new

You may find it unfamiliar when you hear the name, but it is actually not a new virus.

Hand, foot and mouth disease, herpetic pharyngitis, and childhood gastrointestinal cold , these common childhood diseases are actually related to Coxsackievirus.

Coxsackievirus belongs to the Picornaviridae family and the Enterovirus genus, and is divided into two major categories: Group A and Group B. Group A viruses have 24 serotypes, A1 to A24; Group B viruses have 6 serotypes, B1 to B6. There is very little cross-immunity between different virus groups and types.

Coxsackievirus was first discovered in stool samples in 1948 by Dr. Gillbert Dalldorf and his colleagues while searching for a cure for polio and was named after the town of Coxsackie in New York where it was discovered.

Human infection with Coxsackievirus can easily cause changes such as herpetic pharyngitis and non-paralytic poliomyelitis. The clinical manifestations are complex and diverse, including aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, myocarditis, pericarditis, epidemic chest pain, herpetic pharyngitis, etc. Some conditions are similar to poliomyelitis.

After infection, people will have cold symptoms such as fever, sneezing, and coughing . Infection during pregnancy can cause non-paralytic poliomyelitis and intrauterine infection and malformation of the fetus. Coxsackievirus can cause meningitis and mild paralysis, pleural pain, intercostal pain, herpetic pharyngitis, respiratory diseases, conjunctivitis, and hand, foot and mouth disease.

Is Coxsackievirus contagious?

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Coxsackievirus is mainly transmitted through the digestive and respiratory tracts , and can also be transmitted through direct contact between people or indirect contact with food, clothing, and utensils contaminated by the virus. Pollution of drinking water and swimming pools can cause outbreaks, and clams in seawater or rivers can also carry the virus, leading to foodborne outbreaks. Pregnant women who are infected can transmit the virus to the fetus through the placenta, causing fetal malformations or even stillbirth.

Children are more susceptible than adults. It often occurs in children under 15 years old, and the majority of cases occur in children under 5 years old, mainly in scattered households and children in childcare institutions. Immunity increases with age. Adults who are infected often show subclinical or latent infections, while pregnant women and the elderly are susceptible to infection and have a higher incidence of complications. Neutralizing antibodies produced after coxsackievirus infection can be transmitted to the fetus through the placenta, so newborns within 6 months rarely get sick.

How to prevent Coxsackievirus?

There is no specific treatment for Coxsackie virus infection, and symptomatic treatment is the main treatment. We remind everyone to take precautions.

Prevention focuses on cutting off the transmission route. Digestive and respiratory isolation measures should be taken for people infected with Coxsackie virus. During the epidemic, attention should be paid to environmental sanitation and personal hygiene, and good personal hygiene habits should be developed. Food and water hygiene should be strengthened, and feces management should be done well. Medical staff in hospitals and clinics should do a good job of hand hygiene, and medical equipment and wards should be disinfected at any time and terminally to prevent hospital infection. There is currently no vaccine available.

Some parents are confused. Isn’t it said that hand, foot and mouth disease can be treated with vaccination?

A: Children over 6 months old can be vaccinated with EV71 vaccine, which can effectively prevent the onset, severe illness and death of EV71-related hand, foot and mouth disease. However, this vaccine cannot prevent hand, foot and mouth disease caused by other types of viruses such as Coxsackie A16 and Coxsackie A6. Therefore, parents should not rest easy and take protection lightly just because they have been vaccinated.

Source: People's Daily Online Science Popularization Comprehensive Future Network, Jiangsu Disease Control Center