Long persistence of EV71 specific nucleotides in respiratory and feces samples of the patients with Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease after recovery

Background EV71 is associated with the fatal cases of brain stem encephalitis during large HFMD outbreaks from 1998 to 2008. EV71 may continuously shed from upper respiratory tracts and feces of HFMD patients for relatively long time after recovery. However, the persistence of viruses in the patients' secretions and excretions is not clear.