Duplicated reporting of brucellosis in Shaanxi, 2005–2020

  Objective  To understand the impact of duplicated reporting of brucellosis on its incidence in Shaanxi province, and improve the quality of brucellosis surveillance data.

  Methods  The reporting cards of brucellosis in Shaanxi from 2005 to 2020 were collected. SQL statements called by sqldf package of software R3.5.1 were used to analyze the duplicated reporting of brucellosis.

  Results  A total of 14 282 brucellosis cases were reported in Shaanxi and the number of duplicated reporting of brucellosis cases was 333. The number of duplicated reporting of brucellosis cards within a year was 216, which was higher than that in multi years (117). The overall duplicated reporting rate was 2.33%, showing an increasing trend from 2005 to 2020 except 2010. Up to 94.94% of brucellosis cases were reported twice. The number of duplicated reporting cards of brucellosis by CDCs and hospitals were higher, which were 173 (51.95%), and 156 (46.85%), respectively. The number of duplicated reporting cards of brucellosis in Yulin (253) was highest. The rates of duplicated reporting of brucellosis in Fugu, Yulin and Shenmu were higher. From 2005 to 2020, the average brucellosis incidence in Shaanxi was 2.36 per 100 000, and it decreased by 2.33% after eliminating the duplicated reporting cards.

  Conclusion  From 2005 to 2020, the overall duplicated reporting rate of brucellosis in Shaanxi showed an increasing trend. The duplicated reporting of brucellosis had some influence on the brucellosis incidence in Shaanxi, especially in Fugu, Yulin and Shenmu. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the infectious disease reporting management and complete the system function to improve the quality of surveillance data.