Molecular characterization of a new human coxsackievirus B2 associated with severe hand-foot-mouth disease in Yunnan Province of China in 2012

Human coxsackievirus B2 (CVB2) belongs to the species Human enterovirus B and can cause aseptic meningitis, myocarditis and hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD). We first determined the complete genome of the RW41-2/YN/CHN/2012 strain, isolated from a patient with HFMD and aseptic meningitis in the Yunnan Province, China in 2012. The strain shared 83.5 % and 82.2 % nucleotide similarity with CVB2 prototype strain Ohio-1, in the complete VP1 gene and the complete genome, respectively. Using phylogenetic and homogeneity analyses for the complete VP1 gene, CVB2 strains could be divided into four genogroups (A–D); the RW41-2/YN/CHN/2012 strain belonging to genogroup D. The amino acid sequence of VP1 is highly conserved. Recombination analyses showed the newly isolated RW41-2/YN/CHN/2012 strain was probably a recombinant, which was closely related to strain CVB2 (KM386639) in the genomic P1 and P2 regions and strains of other human enterovirus B (HEV-B) viruses (KT353721, JX644073, and KP262053) in the P3 region.