How are viral infections (such as hand foot & mouth) able to target specific extremities on the body.

Question

Dealing with a case of HFMD and was wondering how the viral infection targets the same specific locations on the body in most cases. Why is the rest of the body clear? How does the reaction isolate itself to the same extremities?

In: 2

Answer 1

The bumps on the outside of a virus basically act as a kind of key to unlocking the cell walls so they can get inside to replicate. Some cell walls are easier to penetrate than others with certain keys.