Epidemiology of public health emergencies in Hubei province,2004-2013

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of public health emergencies in Hubei province from 2004 to 2013. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on the reported incidence data of public health emergencies in Hubei province during this period. Results A total of 910 public health emergencies were reported, in which 2 (2.2%) were classified as grade Ⅱ events, 78 (8.57%) were classified as grade Ⅲ events and 830 (91.21%) were classified as grade Ⅳevents. Poisoning accounted for 79.49% of grade Ⅲ public health emergencies. Up to 791 public health emergencies were communicable disease outbreaks, accounting for 86.92%. The case fatality rate of heat stroke was highest (100%), followed by that of poisoning (4.29%). The annual incidence peaks were during March-June and during September-November, the public health emergencies occurred during these two periods accounted for 78.92% of the total. A total of 717 public health emergencies occurred in schools (78.79%). The numbers of reported public health emergencies varied with area. Conclusion It is essential to strengthen the prevention and control of communicable diseases in schools to reduce the incidence of public health emergencies and it is important to strengthen the health education to reduce the incidence of poisoning.