New vaccine developed

Chinese researchers have developed the world’s first ever vaccine against a strain of enterovirus that can cause hand, foot and mouth disease, a condition commonly affecting small children that can lead to deadly infection of the brain and spinal cord membranes. Hand, foot and mouth disease causes fever and blisters around the hands, feet and mouth. It is transmitted by contact with faecal matter, blisters or saliva of an infected person. Hand, foot and mouth disease can be caused by a range of different germs, including a group called enteroviruses. One kind of enterovirus, called enterovirus 71 (EV71) is of particular concern as it can cause severe disease in children, sometimes leading to potentially fatal meningitis and encephalitis. According to a paper published in the journal The Lancet, the new vaccine protects against enterovirus 71 (EV71). The study involved 10,245 children aged between six and 35 months who lived in four different places in...