Pathogen spectrum and epidemiological characteristics of viral diarrhea in Jiangsu

  Objective  To investigate the pathogen spectrum and epidemiological characteristics of viral diarrhea cases in Jiangsu province from 2018 to 2019 and provide data support for the effective prevention and control and clinical treatment of infectious diarrhea.

  Methods  Stool samples were collected from all diarrhea cases in sentinel hospitals in Jiangsu from November 2018 to October 2019 for viral nucleic acid detection, and the results were analyzed by χ² test.

  Results  In 2 486 diarrhea cases, 633 samples were positive in the viral nucleic acid test (25.46%). Norovirus and rotavirus were detected in 32.07% and 25.43% of all positive samples, respectively, accounting for more than half of the total. The highest incidence rate of infectious diarrhea was found in children under 5 years old (29.04%). The seasons with the highest positive rates were Summer (28.59%) and Autumn (27.18%). The virus positive rate in floating population (45.76%) was much higher than that in local residents (23.33%) (χ²=56.618, P<0.001).

  Conclusion  It is suggested that preschool children should be regarded as the key population for the prevention and control of viral diarrhea, the prevention and control of viral diarrhea should be strengthened in Summer and Autumn, and the coverage of health education for floating population should be expanded.