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B1c genetic subtype of coxsackievirus A16 associated with hand, foot and mouth disease in Andaman Islands, India.

BACKGROUND
An outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) occurred in the Andaman Islands in 2013. Therefore, we aimed to identify the aetiological agent and to explore its genetic characteristics.


METHODS
Clinical specimens were subjected to virus isolation, further confirmed by sequencing the partial VP1/2A region of enterovirus, and analysed using MEGA 6 software with intra-serotype reference sequences.


RESULTS
Coxsackievirus A16 (CV A16) was found to be the causative agent, closely grouped with B1c genetic clusters of CV A16. However, it has significant genetic distance (K2P=0.059%) with B1c sub-clusters.


CONCLUSION
Extended research work should be carried out to better understand the emerging nature of CV A16 associated with HFMD in these islands.GenBank accession numbers: KU523376-KU523387.