Optimal control of bi-seasonal hand, foot and mouth disease in mainland China suggests transmission from children and isolating older infected individuals are critical

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a Class C infectious disease that carries particularly high risk for preschool children and is a leading cause of childhood death in some countries. We mimic the periodic outbreak of HFMD over a 2-year period—with differing amplitudes—and propose a dynamic HFMD model that differentiates transmission between mature and immature individuals and uses two possible optimal-control strategies to minimize case numbers, total costs and deaths. We parameterized the model by fitting it to HFMD data in mainland China from January 2011 to December 2018, and the basic reproduction number was estimated as 0.9599. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that transmission between immature and mature individuals contributes substantially to new infections. Increasing the isolation rates of infectious individuals—particularly mature infectious individuals—could greatly reduce the outbreak risk and potentially eradicate the disease in a relatively short time period. It follows that we have a reasonable chance of controlling HFMD if we can reduce transmission in children under 7 and isolate older infectious individuals.