Epidemiology of hand, foot and mouth disease and control strategy in Zhuji, Zhejiang,2008-2011

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Zhuji and provide scientific evidence for the development of prevention and control strategy. Methods The analysis on local HFMD surveillance data and etiological detection results of some HFMD cases from 2008 to 2011 were conducted. Results A total of 5273 HFMD cases, including 18 severe cases and 3 deaths, were reported during this period with the annual average incidence of 99.89/lakh, The incidence peak occurred during April-July and sub-peak occurred during September-October of a year. The cases in children outside child care settings accounted for 59.34% of the total and most cases were distributed in age group 5 years (90.63%). Totally 91 epidemics occurred in child care settings (94.51%) and other places. The severe cases and deaths mainly occurred in age group 0-2 years in floating population, accounting for 77.78%. The cases caused by EV71 accounted for 40.18% and the cases caused by Cox A16 accounted for 30.25%, but the severe cases and deaths were mainly caused by EV71. The epidemics were caused by either EV71 or Cox A16, the difference had no statistical significance (P0.05). Conclusion The area, seasonal and population distributions of HFMD cases were obvious in Zhuji. It is necessary to develop effective prevention and control strategy according to epidemiological characteristics of HFMD.