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Hand-foot-and-mouth syndrome: A clinical pattern consisting of a rash onthe hands and feet and in the mouth due to a viral infection. The internal rash (the enanthem) consists of blisters and little ulcers that may involvenot only the lining of the mouth but also the gums, palate, and tongue. Theexternal rash on the body (the exanthem) typically affects the hands (mostcommonly), feet and, sometimes, the buttocks. There may also be sore throat,irritability, decreased appetite, and fever.
The syndrome is caused byvarious viruses, including several types of coxsackievirus- coxsackievirusesA16 (most often), A5, A9, A10, B1 and B3, and enterovirus 71. Theincubation period is short, on the order of 4 to 6 days. The disease is mostfrequent in summer and fall. The rate of clinical expression in hand-foot-and-mouth disease is high with the enanthem-exanthem patternevident in nearly 100% of preschoolers, nearly 40% of school-age childrenand about 10% of adults. So a young child might well contract thehand-foot-and mouth syndrome just before or after the start of preschool.The illness is characteristically self-limited and is usually over and donewithin a week, particularly when due to its most common cause: coxsackievirusA16. In those outbreaks due to enterovirus 71, the illness may be moresevere with complications such as viral rel=arch meningitis and encephalitis andparalytic disease. However, hand-foot-and-mouth disease as a rule is,fortunately, mild and self-limited.
The condition was first reported in 1956in Australia and by the early 60s had emerged as a common childhood illnessaround the world. It is also called hand-foot-and-mouth disease andsometimes the hyphens are dropped and it is termed hand, foot, and mouthsyndrome (or disease).