Update on hand-foot-and-mouth disease

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a viral exanthem caused, primarily by Coxsackie A16 and enterovirus 71 with typical clinical features of fever, painful papules and blisters over the extremities and genitalia and an enanthem involving ulceration of the mouth, palate, and pharynx. Other enteroviruses have recently been noted to cause severe neurologic illness and paralysis (enterovirus 68) with variable cutaneous features. A recent outbreak of Coxsackie A6 infection has been seen worldwide with cases reported in the United States, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. These cases have caused extensive cutaneous disease variants, some of which are not previously recognized in Coxsackie infection, namely vesicobullous and erosive eruptions, extensive cutaneous involvement, periorificial lesions, localization in areas of atopic dermatitis or in children with atopic dermatitis (the so-called eczema coxsackium), Gianotti-Crosti-like lesions, petechial/purpuric eruptions, delayed onychomadesis, and palmoplantar desquamation. Finally, adult cases appear to occur with this form of hand-foot-and-mouth disease, likely due to fecal-oral transmission in a household setting.