Epidemiological characteristics of foodborne disease outbreaks in Zhejiang Province during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ObjectiveTo analyze the epidemiological characteristics of foodborne disease outbreaks in Zhejiang Province during COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThe data of foodborne disease outbreaks reported in 11 cities in Zhejiang Province in 2020 were collected and analyzed by descriptive epidemiological method.ResultsIn 2020， 201 outbreaks were reported through the foodborne disease outbreak surveillance system in 11 cities of Zhejiang Province， including 1 765 cases， 138 hospitalizations and 1 death. Due to the impact of COVID-19， there were two outbreak peaks in June and August respectively. The outbreak sites were mainly families （47.76%， 96/201）， hotels and restaurants （12.94%， 26/201）， dining halls （12.44%， 25/201）， school canteens （8.46%， 17/201） and small restaurants （7.96%， 16/201）， and the proportion of hotels and restaurants decreased compared with previous years. Pathogenic bacteria were the primary pathogenic factors of foodborne disease outbreaks， and the main pathogenic bacteria were Vibrio parahaemolyticus （37.88%， 25/66） and Salmonella （28.79%， 19/66）. In 2020， the proportion of Vibrio parahaemolyticus decreased and was the lowest in the recent five years. A total of 40 outbreaks of mushroom poisoning were reported without death， and the main type of poisoning was gastroenteritis.ConclusionFood safety supervision and health education should be strengthened， and targeted prevention and control measures should be taken according to the epidemiological characteristics of different pathogenic factors to reduce the burden of foodborne diseases.

Keywords

• foodborne diseases
• outbreak
• vibrio parahaemolyticus
• mushroom poisoning