Retrospective seroepidemiology indicated that human enterovirus 71 and coxsackievirus A16 circulated wildly in central and southern China before large-scale outbreaks from 2008

This report confirmed that HEV71 and CVA16 had wildly circulated in a couple provinces in China before the large-scale outbreaks from 2008. This finding also suggests that public health measures to control the spread of HEV71 and CVA16 should be devised according to the different regional characteristics.