Analysis on genetic character of coxsackievirus A16 strains isolated in Shanghai in 2002

OBJECTIVE: To reveal the genetic characteristic of Coxsackie virus A16 (CVA16) strains isolated during an epidemic of Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease (HFMD) in Shanghai in 2002. METHODS: CVA16 strains were isolated from the patients of HFMD during the epidemic in Shanghai in 2002. The VP1 coding gene of CVA16 strains was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and sequenced. The homology and phylogenetic analyses were done between the 7 isolates and other CVA16 strains downloaded from Genbank, based on the sequence of VP1 gene. RESULTS: 7 CVA16 strains were isolated from the patients of HFMD in Shanghai, which belonged to different lineages of genotype B. Among them, except for SH-18-CHN02 strain in lineage 1, other CVA16 strains were all in lineage 2. The homology of nucleotide and amino acid of 7 CVA16 strains were 88.8%-99.7% and 99.3%-100% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: 7 CVA16 strains in this study were all genotype B. There were some variations compared with the other CVA16 strains isolated in China before. It suggested that CVA16 strains might have spread for a long time in China, which belonged to several different transmissions. To reveal the genotype and genetic characteristic of CVA16 prevalent in China, the surveillance of CVA16 should be strengthened to get more molecular epidemiologic data.