An outbreak of dengue fever in Gongshu district of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 2017

ObjectiveTo understand the cause of an outbreak of dengue fever occurred in Gongshu district of Hangzhu, Zhejiang province, in 2017, and provide evidence for the prevention and control of dengue fever in the future.

MethodsEpidemiological survey was conducted through active search of dengue fever cases in hospitals and communities to describe the epidemiological characteristics of the cases and analyze the cause of the outbreak.

ResultsA total of 327 cases were reported in this outbreak, most cases occurred from 21 August to 15 September and distributed in 4 communities along with the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The cases were mainly the retired (123, 37.61%) and the jobless (76, 23.24%) and aged ＞50 years (61.16%). The average interval between onset and diagnosis was 5.20 days, and the interval was 3 days (2–5 d) in inpatient group and 5 days (3–7 d) in outpatient group, the difference was significant (Ζ＝6.383, P＜0.001).

ConclusionThis outbreak, a local transmission of dengue fever, might be caused by imported or latent infection cases. It is suggested to improve the diagnosis and surveillance of dengue fever in hospitals at all levels and implement community responsibility protocol regularly for the timely detection and control of dengue fever epidemic in the future.