Epidemiological characteristics and spatiotemporal analysis of mumps at township level in Wuhan, China, 2005-2019.

The resurgence and outbreaks of mumps occur frequently in many countries worldwide in recent years, even in countries with high vaccination coverage. In this study, a descriptive and spatiotemporal clustering analysis at the township level was conducted to explore the dynamic spatiotemporal aggregation and epidemiological characteristics of mumps in Wuhan. During 2005 and 2019, there were 40 685 cases reported in Wuhan, with an average annual morbidity of 28.11 per 100 000 populations. The morbidity showed a fluctuating tendency, and peaked in 2010 and 2018. Bimodal seasonality was found, with a large peak between May and July, and a mild peak from November to January in the following year. Male students aged 5-9-year-old were the main risk group of mumps infection. Significant global spatial auto-correlation was detected except in 2007, 2009 and 2015. The spatial and temporal scan statistics indicated that the hot-spots mainly located at the western and southern areas of Wuhan with variations almost every year. Our findings could assist the public health authorities to develop and improve targeted health strategies, and allocate health resources rationally.

Hepatitis E virus infection in Wuhan, Central China.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emergent virus of global importance. Previous studies of HEV infection in China mainly focused on the rural areas. This work aims to study the epidemiology of HEV in a large urban environment. With a registered population of 10 million, the dense city of Wuhan presents itself as a prime opportunity to better understand this emergent virus. The epidemiological data from 2011 to 2016 were analyzed. A cross-sectional study on the seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgG was conducted among the general population (age range 0-59) in 2013. Serum and fecal samples of hepatitis E patients were collected over a period of two years: serum samples were tested for anti-HEV IgM and IgG, and fecal samples were tested for HEV-RNA. The overall seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgG was 35% in Wuhan. Among 415 hepatitis E patients, 286 cases (68.9%) were positive for HEV-IgM, 108 cases (26%) were positive for HEV-IgG alone, and 21 cases (5.1%) were negative for both IgM and IgG. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the detected genotype of HEV was genotype 4. Reported cases occurred sporadically throughout the year with the peak value appearing in the first quarter and a large proportion of male cases (2.1:1). The incidence increased with age for persons under 60 years, reaching its peak level after 60 years of age. Wuhan is endemic for HEV with its currently detected genotype being genotype 4. It is estimated that 68.9% hepatitis E cases were due to primary infection between 2012 and 2013 in Wuhan.

Reemergence and Autochthonous Transmission of Dengue Virus, Eastern China, 2014.

In 2014, 20 dengue cases were reported in the cities of Wenzhou (5 cases) and Wuhan (15 cases), China, where dengue has rarely been reported. Dengue virus 1 was detected in 4 patients. Although most of these cases were likely imported, epidemiologic analysis provided evidence for autochthonous transmission.

SARS-CoV-2 detection in patients with influenza-like illness.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in late December 2019. We re-analysed 640 throat swabs collected from patients in Wuhan with influenza-like-illness from 6 October 2019 to 21 January 2020 and found that 9 of the 640 throat swabs were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by quantitative PCR, suggesting community transmission of SARS-CoV2 in Wuhan in early January 2020.

Serologic Response to SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 Patients with Different Severity.

The immense patient number caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic brings the urge for more knowledge about its immunological features, including the profile of basic immune parameters. In this study, eighty-eight reported COVID-19 patients in Wuhan were recruited from January to February, 2020, including 32 severe/critical cases and 56 mild/moderate cases. Their mean age was 56.43 years (range 17-83) and gender ratio (male/female) was 43:45. We tested SARS-CoV-2 RNA with commercial kits, investigated the level of serologic IgM and IgG antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) using magnetic particle chemiluminescence immunoassays, and compared the results of serologic tests and nucleic acid test (NAT). Among 88 patients, 95.45% were confirmed as positive by the combination of NAT and antibody test, which was significantly higher (P < 0.001) than by single nucleic acid test (73.86%) or serologic test (65.91%). Then the correlation between temporal profile and the level of antibody response was analyzed. It showed that seroconversion started on day 5 after disease onset and IgG level was rose earlier than IgM. Comparison between patients with different disease severity suggested early seroconversion and high antibody titer were linked with less severe clinical symptoms. These results supported the combination of serologic testing and NAT in routine COVID-19 diagnosis and provided evidence on the temporal profile of antibody response in patients with different disease severity.

An Outbreak of Gastroenteritis Associated with GII.17 Norovirus-Contaminated Secondary Water Supply System in Wuhan, China, 2017.

A gastroenteritis outbreak occurred in a university in May, 2017, Wuhan, China. The epidemiological survey and pathogen analysis were conducted to identify the pathogen and control this outbreak. Feces or anal swabs from individuals, water, and swabs taken from tap surfaces of the secondary water supply system (SWSS) and foods were collected for the detection of viruses and pathogenic enteric bacteria by real-time RT-PCR and culture, respectively. Nucleotide sequences were determined by RT-PCR and direct sequencing. Genotyping, phylogenetic, and recombination analyses were conducted by a web-based genotyping tool, MEGA, and RDP4 programs, respectively. Of 144 individuals enrolled, 75 met the case definitions. The epidemic curve showed one peak of incidence suggesting the most probable spread of a single common source. In total, 33 specimens were collected before disinfection of the SWSS. Of these, norovirus was detected and identified as GII.P17-GII.17 with 100% nucleotide sequence identity among the strains detected in ten students (10/14), a maintenance worker (1/2) dealing with the SWSS, four water samples (4/8), and two swabs taken from tap surfaces (2/3). Pathogens including Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Bacillus cereus, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, rotavirus, astrovirus, and sapovirus were negative. The GII.17 strains in this outbreak clustered closely in the same branch of the phylogenetic tree, and slightly apart from the strains of other cities in China, neighboring countries and regions, European and American countries. This gastroenteritis outbreak was deduced to be attributed to GII.P17-GII.17 norovirus contamination of the SWSS.

Application of seasonal auto-regressive integrated moving average model in forecasting the incidence of hand-foot-mouth disease in Wuhan, China.

Outbreaks of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) have occurred many times and caused serious health burden in China since 2008. Application of modern information technology to prediction and early response can be helpful for efficient HFMD prevention and control. A seasonal auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model for time series analysis was designed in this study. Eighty-four-month (from January 2009 to December 2015) retrospective data obtained from the Chinese Information System for Disease Prevention and Control were subjected to ARIMA modeling. The coefficient of determination (R 2), normalized Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) and Q-test P value were used to evaluate the goodness-of-fit of constructed models. Subsequently, the best-fitted ARIMA model was applied to predict the expected incidence of HFMD from January 2016 to December 2016. The best-fitted seasonal ARIMA model was identified as (1,0,1)(0,1,1)12, with the largest coefficient of determination (R 2=0.743) and lowest normalized BIC (BIC=3.645) value. The residuals of the model also showed non-significant autocorrelations (P Box-Ljung (Q)=0.299). The predictions by the optimum ARIMA model adequately captured the pattern in the data and exhibited two peaks of activity over the forecast interval, including a major peak during April to June, and again a light peak for September to November. The ARIMA model proposed in this study can forecast HFMD incidence trend effectively, which could provide useful support for future HFMD prevention and control in the study area. Besides, further observations should be added continually into the modeling data set, and parameters of the models should be adjusted accordingly.