To investigate the etiology spectrum of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and to analyze the molecular characteristics of Coxsackievirus A10 and A6 in Qingdao in 2014.

Throat swabs of HFMD cases were tested for total enteroviruses (EVs), EV-A71, CV-A16, CV-A10 and CV-A6 by multiplex real time RT-PCR. Other EV serotypes were identified through the sequences of partial VP1 gene. The full-length of VP1 gene of CV-A10 and CV-A6 were amplified and sequenced. The sequences were phylogenetically analyzed using MEGA 5.0 software package.

A total of 1727 HFMD patients were detected in 2014 and 11serotypes of enteroviruses were identified. EV-A71(38.0%, 410/1078), CV-A16(28.8%, 311/1078), CV-A10(14.1%, 152/1078)and CV-A6(3.2%, 34/1078)were the most dominant pathogen in 2014 in Qingdao. Proportions of CV-A10 in enterovirus infected children varied dramatically in different ages(χ²=15.19, P=0.001), showing a downtrend with age. Proportion of CV-A10 in inpatients was much higher than that in outpatients(χ²=49.1, P <0.001), while 60% of those inpatients showed nervous system damage symptoms, with pathological reflex or disappearance of physiological reflex. Phylogenetic analysis of complete VP1 sequences showed that all CV-A10 strains identied in this study belonged to genotype C, 71.7% of which located in branch C5; all CV-A6 strains belonged to genotype D while 83.3% of which located in branch D5.

EV-A71, CV-A16, CV-A10 and CV-A6 were the prevalent pathogens of HFMD in Qingdao in 2014. CV-A10 was more frequently detected in lower age group with HFMD, which can cause damage to nervous system. Strains of branch C5 in genotype C were the dominant strains of CV-A10 circulated in Qingdao in 2014 while strains of branch D5 in genotype D were the major strains of CV-A6.

Hand, foot and mouth disease; Coxsackievirus A10; Coxsackievirus A6; Phylogenetic analysis