Herpangina

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Medical Author:

David Perlstein, MD, MBA, FAAP

David Perlstein, MD, MBA, FAAP

Dr. Perlstein received his Medical Degree from the University of Cincinnati and then completed his internship and residency in pediatrics at The New York Hospital, Cornell medical Center in New York City. After serving an additional year as Chief Pediatric Resident, he worked as a private practitioner and then was appointed Director of Ambulatory Pediatrics at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx.

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Medical Editor:

Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP is the Chair of the Department of Medicine at Michigan State University. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt Medical School, and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Indiana University.

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Herpangina is an acute, virally induced, self-limited illness often seen in young children during the summer months. Affected children usually complain of mouth sores and fever. It is caused by a number of viruses, all part of the enterovirus family, coxsackievirus being the most common. Most children develop a high fever and complain of a sore throat. They then develop vesicles (blisters) or ulcers (sores) at the back of the throat and palate (called an enanthem). Children, especially younger children, may refuse to eat or drink because of the pain and are at risk for developing signs and symptoms of dehydration.

Several common Coxsackie A viruses can cause herpangina, although a number of other enteroviruses have also been implicated. The viruses are usually spread via the "fecal-oral route" or via "respiratory route." Contact with mucous of an individual infected with one of these viruses is usually all that is needed to contract the illness. The normal course of the infection involves an incubation period which is generally an asymptomatic period lasting anywhere from one to two weeks. In fact, 50% of individuals infected with some of these enteroviruses remain asymptomatic throughout, which makes preventing transmission more difficult.