Epidemiology of hand, foot and mouth disease in Longgang, Shenzhen, 2008-2011

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of hand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD) in Longgang district, Shenzhen municipality, and provide evidence for the development of HFMD prevention and control strategy. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on the incidence data of HFMD in Longgang from 2008 to 2011 collected from National Disease Reporting Information System and Shenzhen Disease Control Information System. Results IThe annual incidence of HFMD in longgang was 45.75/lakh,96.80/lakh,307.48/lakh and 349.36/lakh respectively from.2008 to 2011, the differences had statistical significance(P0.01). The disease occurred in all communities, especially in Longgang, Pingdi and Buji communities with the incidences of 420.37/lakh,356.06/lakh and 259.83/lakh respectively. The annual incidence peak occurred during April-July with the cases accounting for 59.59%, and the annual sub-peak occurred during September-November with cases accounting for 23.14%. Most cases were children aged 5 years in and outside child care settings. The outbreaks usually occurred in schools and child care settings. Severe case number increased with year(2 in 2008,14 in 2009,31 in 2010 and 55 in 2011). Totally 19 deaths occurred during this period(2 in 2008,5 in 2009,8 in 2010,4 in 2011). Conclusion The incidence of HFMD increased year by year in Longgang, which has posed serious threaten to public health. It is necessary to take comprehensive measures to prevent and control the spread and outbreak of HFMD in Longgang.