Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is the main public health concern in China. Although randomised controlled trials have shown efficacy, evidence for the efficacy of monovalent HFMD vaccine Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is still uncertain. This research was conducted in Guangzhou, China to determine the efficacy of HFMD vaccines. The Chinese Information System for Disease Control and Prevention has captured routine vaccination and HFMD surveillance data. Evaluation of the efficacy of the vaccine was based on spatial analysis of ecology and the time series.
From January 2016 to December 2018, a combination of 174,002 HFMD cases under the age of five have been registered in Guangzhou, China. A combined 408,664 children were vaccinated with two doses of EV71. The two-dose EV71 vaccine rate above the median in ecological analysis conferred a lower risk of HFMD than the median vacuum rate. With regard to time series, a 1 percent rise in the two-dose EV71 vaccination rate was correlated with 0.9 percent lower HFMD incidents, without statistic significance.
Based on real-life data, proof of the efficacy of vaccine EV71 to prevent EV71 and “other” HFMD viruses has been found. An expanded EV71 immunisation programme is urgently needed.
Reference: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2020.1763076
