Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of acute gastroenteritis outbreaks caused by sapovirus in children and summarize the experience of prevention and control.

Methods The field epidemiological investigation was conducted for an acute gastroenteritis outbreak in a primary school in Shenzhen, Guangdong province in 2018. The descriptive epidemiology was used to analyze the characteristics of the outbreak.

ResultsA total of 26 cases were detected in one class, involving 24 students and 2 teachers. The attack rate was 47.06% in students (24/51), the difference in attack rate between boys and girls was not significant. The incidence curve indicated a common point-source exposure mode in this outbreak. The possibility of food or water contamination was excluded, the first case in the class was recognized as the source of this outbreak. The outbreak lasted for 2 days. The main clinical symptom was vomiting (80.77%). The course of disease was 2–5 days and the prognosis was good. Among 15 cases seeking medical care, 10 (66.70%) were diagnosed with upper respiratory infection. The pathogen causing the outbreak was sapovirus indicated by the detection of student’s anal swabs. The etiologic analysis showed that the infection rate of sapovirus was 64.71% (33/51), and the latent infection rate was 17.65% (9/51).

Conclusion This acute gastroenteritis outbreak in a primary school in Shenzhen in 2018 was caused by sapovirus, the disease was mainly transmitted through personal contact. It is suggested that the prevention and control of acute gastroenteritis in primary schools should be strengthened.