Seroepidemiology of Enterovirus 71 among Healthy Children near Tokyo

In 1973 an epidemic of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) took place throughout Japan (4). We reported that this epidemic was associated with enterovirus 71 (E71) infection, which had not been known to cause a wide-spread outbreak of the disease (1). In order to know whether or not E71 was prevalent in Japan before this epidemic, we carried out a sero-survey on neutralizing-antibody against E71 among healthy children. Sera of healthy children, from zero to ten years of age, were collected in Takatsu area, Kawasaki City near Tokyo, every March from 1966 to 1973. The