Analysis of epidemiological features of food-borne diseases through active surveillance in Wenchang， Hainan Province from 2017 to 2021

Objective To understand the epidemiological and etiological characteristics of food-borne diseases in Wenchang， Hainan Province， and to analyze the suspected food exposure sites and sources so as to provide scientific data for early prevention.

Methods The data of food-borne disease cases， including basic information， time， population， region， suspected exposed food， etiology， etc.， from the sentinel hospitals of the surveillance systems in Wenchang from 2017 to 2021 were statistically analyzed.

Results A total of 2 219 food-borne disease cases were collected from 2017 to 2021. The male-to-female sex ratio was 1.2：1， and there was no significant statistical difference （χ²=5.732， P>0.05）. Cases were mainly concentrated in children aged <7 years （43.26%）， followed by 7 to 18 years （15.41%）， 19 to 30 years （11.72%） and >60 years （11.36%）， and there was a significant statistical difference （χ²=168.125， P<0.001）. The highest number of cases were found in preschool children （36.05%）， followed by students （17.49%） and farmers （16.18%）. The peak incidence occurred from July to November （54.44%）. The suspected exposure foods reported in the monitored cases were mainly vegetable foods （17.49%） and mixed foods （17.08%）. The exposure sites were primarily households （76.30%） and catering services （13.56%）. The positive rate of pathogens was 12.26% in 1085 tested samples， and there was no statistically significant difference in the annual detection rate （χ²=1.086， P>0.05）. The main pathogens of food-borne pathogens were Salmonella （9.95%）， followed by norovirus （2.03%） and rotavirus （0.28%）.

Conclusion The surveillance of foodborne disease cases in Wenchang shows seasonal peak patterns according to population and pathogen epidemiological features. The main affected groups are preschool children， students， farmers， and the elderly. The exposures are mainly related to vegetable foods and mixed foods in households and catering service establishments. Efforts should be made to strengthen food safety awareness， health education， and supervision targeting residents and food operators in order to reduce the incidence of foodborne diseases in the Wenchang area.