Hand-foot-and-mouth disease

Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Get Started

Free

E-Newsletter

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer

Risk factors

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease primarily affects children younger than age 10. Children in child care centers are especially susceptible to outbreaks of hand-foot-and-mouth disease because the infection spreads by person-to-person contact, and young children are the most susceptible.

Children usually develop immunity to hand-foot-and-mouth disease as they get older by building antibodies after exposure to the virus that causes the disease. However, it's possible for adolescents and adults to get the disease.

References
  1. Hand, foot, & mouth disease (HFMD). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/enterovirus/hfhf.htm. Accessed June 22, 2009.
  2. Enteroviruses - non polio. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs174/en/print.html. Accessed June 22, 2009.
  3. Hand, foot and mouth disease. American Osteopathic College of Dermatology. http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/hand_foot_mouth_disease.html. Accessed June 22, 2009.
  4. Non-polio enterovirus infections. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/enterovirus/non-polio_entero.htm. Accessed June 26, 2009.

DS00599

Aug. 26, 2009

© 1998-2009 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Reliable tools for healthier lives," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Text Size: smaller largerlarger