Evaluation of early warning performance of student health surveillance information system on common infectious diseases in Shenzhen, Guangdong, 2017−2022

Objective To evaluate the early-warning performance of student health surveillance information system on common infectious diseases in targeted population in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

Methods The surveillance data of Shenzhen Student Health Surveillance Information System from 2017 to 2022 were collected, the incidence data of common infectious diseases in primary and middle school students in Shenzhen were compared with those from the Infectious Diseases Surveillance and Reporting Information System of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the same period, the correlation of time series data of the symptoms and diseases detected in surveillance were studied by using dislocation correlation analysis, and the feasibility and effect of early warning of common infectious diseases in primary and middle school students by using the data of student health surveillance information systems were evaluated.

Results  The weekly surveillance data of upper respiratory tract symptoms, vomiting/diarrhea symptoms, fever symptoms and rash symptoms from 2017 to 2022 were correlated with the corresponding data of common infectious disease cases in campus (r=0.24, r=0.45, r=0.39, r=0.58, P<0.05). Compared with 2019−2020, the correlation between fever and rash symptoms and the number of corresponding common infectious disease cases in the school doctors in 2020−2022 decreased from r=0.70, r=0.79 to r=0.17, r=0.30 respectively (P<0.05). The results of dislocation correlation analysis showed that the fluctuation of the targeted infectious diseases could be detected 2–3 weeks earlier by using the surveillance data of upper respiratory tract, fever and rash symptoms in campus.

Conclusion The data collected by student health surveillance information system in Shenzhen can reflect the incidence and epidemic of the corresponding common infectious diseases in campus, the surveillance data of upper respiratory tract symptoms, fever symptoms and rash symptoms can be used for the early warning and epidemic prediction. It is necessary to expand the coverage of follow-up surveillance for the better early warning.