Epidemiological characteristics of public health emergencies of communicable diseases in Guangxi, 2005 - 2009

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of public health emergencies of communicable diseases in Guangxi and provide scientific evidence for the prevention and control of communicable disease event. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on the reported data of communicable disease events in Guangxi from 2005 - 2009. Results The reported communicable disease events in Guangxi during this period accounted for 82.87% (1214/1465) of total reported public health emergencies. Totally 66 737 communicable disease cases occurred, accounting for 92.27% of the total disease cases, of which 70 were fatal. No class A communicable event was reported, Class B communicable disease events were more often reported (51.73%), followed by class C communicable disease (28.58%). Respiratory disease events accounted for 86.90% of total communicable disease events, and pandemic influenza A (H1N1) and seasonal influenza were the major diseases, The highest event number was reported in Nanning and the lowest in Chongzuo, accounting for 31.14% and 1.73% respectively. The reported event number, case number and death number in rural area were higher than those in urban area. The communicable disease events reported in 2005 was minimum, but that reported in 2009 was maximum. The communicable disease events mainly occurred during September-December in a year, accounting 63.59% of the total. The communicable disease events occurring in schools accounted for 89.87% of the total. Conclusion Communicable disease event was the major public health emergency in Guangxi, which mainly occurred in schools. It is necessary to strengthen the prevention and control of communicable diseases, especially respiratory diseases, in schools.