Analysis of epidemiological characteristics of the clustered cases of hand， foot and mouth disease in Pudong New Area， Shanghai， 2017‒2022 / 上海预防医学

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo analyze the epidemiological characteristics and etiology of clustered outbreaks of hand， foot， and mouth disease （HFMD） in Pudong New Area， Shanghai from 2017 to 2022， and to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of HFMD in the area. MethodsThe data related to HFMD clustered outbreaks from 2017 to 2022 were obtained from the Pudong New Area HFMD outbreak database. Descriptive analysis was conducted to explore the outbreak scope， seasonal characteristics， distribution of occurrence settings， and etiological composition. ResultsFrom 2017 to 2022， Pudong New Area reported a total of 2 547 HFMD clusters， involving 8 884 cases， with an average of 3.49 cases per event. The majority of events （78.52%） had between 2 and 4 cases. The peak reporting periods for clustered HFMD from 2017 to 2019 and in 2021 were during the summer （May‒July） and autumn （September‒November）. The seasonal pattern was less distinct in 2020 and 2022， likely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of clustered outbreaks occurred in childcare facilities （44.64%）， followed by households/neighborhood committees （44.21%）， with schools accounting for a smaller proportion （12.39%）. The etiology revealed the coexistence of multiple enterovirus genotypes， with a positive detection rate of 60.46%， and CoxA6 being the dominant strain. ConclusionHFMD clustered outbreaks in Pudong New Area show fluctuating trends， with significant yearly differences in the number of incidents. The predominant seasons for outbreaks are summer and autumn， with CoxA6 identified as the dominant strain. The implementation of prevention and control measures for COVID-19 significantly reduced the occurrence of HFMD outbreaks. Continuous monitoring and focus on large-scale clustered outbreaks in key institutions are essential for the future.