Surveillance for foodborne diseases in a sentinel hospital in Jinhua city, Midwest of Zhejiang province, China from 2016–2019

Abstract

To analysis the main clinical symptoms and causative hazards of foodborne disease outbreaks to provide a reference for the prevention, control, and early warning of foodborne diseases. 2,919 FBDs cases were collected and summarised through the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) surveillance system. Foodborne diseases were detected according to national standards. Microsoft Excel 2010 and SPSS 12.0 were used for data descriptive analysis. The mean±standard deviation was used to describe the numerical variables, and the frequency and composition ratio were used to describe the classification variables. There were 2,919 FBDs cases included in the analysis. The highest number of cases occurred among students (41.49%) and farmers (22.85%). The months of August (398,13.63%), September (333,11.41%) and July (330,11.31%) accounted for most cases. The two most frequent pathogens supported by laboratory confirmation are Norovirus and Salmonella. The major symptoms of illness were diarrhoea (97.64%), fever (27.95%), abdominal pain (24.67%), vomiting (22.30%), and nausea (13.7%). This study revealed epidemiological characteristics of FBDs and identified some higher risk factors for interventions. Salmonella and Norovirus were the main pathogens. Foods from catering service settings and animal foods were the factors most likely to contribute to foodborne diseases. Most cases of intoxication and outbreaks were related to wild mushrooms.

Keywords:
foodborne diseases; surveillance; epidemiology; risk factors