A large-scale outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease, France, as at 28 2021

We report a large-scale outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in France. As at 28 September 2021, 3,403 cases have been reported (47% higher than in 2018-19). We prospectively analysed 210 clinical samples; 190 (90.5%) were enterovirus-pos-itive. Most children presented with atypical HFMD. Coxsackievirus (CV)A6 (49.5%; 94/190) was predomi-nant; no enterovirus A71 was detected. Dermatological and neurological complications of HFMD justify pro-spective syndromic and virological surveillance for early detection of HFMD outbreaks and identification of associated types.