Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) outbreak in Hubei province and provide evidence for the prevention and control of HFMD.

Methods The incidence data of HFMD outbreaks during 2008-2022 in Hubei were collected from national public health emergency information system for a descriptive epidemiological analysis.

Results From January 2008 to December 2022, 88 HFMD outbreaks occurred in Hubei, in which 1820 HFMD cases were reported, including 1 death. The overall attack rate was 3.73%. The annual incidence peak was during March - June and the sub-peak was during October - December. Up to 86.36% of outbreaks occurred in child care settings, and 86.54% of the cases were children aged 3-6 years, the male to female sex ratio was 1.31:1. Etiological testing results showed that EV71 infections accounted for the higher proportion in 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017, then the infections of other enteroviruses became predominant during 2021-2022. The outbreaks usually lasted for 4 - 63 days (median: 13 days). Correlation analysis indicated that the intervention duration was positively correlated with the outbreak duration (r=0.280, P=0.008), most outbreaks were reported by medical institutions.

Conclusion The HFMD outbreaks usually occurred during spring-summer and autumn-winter in Hubei during 2008-2022. Child care settings were the major places where HFMD outbreaks occurred. It is necessary to strengthen surveillance for the timely reporting and standardized management and control of HFMD outbreak．