Epidemic characteristics of foodborne disease outbreaks on campus in Shandong Province, 2014—2021

Abstract

ObjectiveTo analyze the epidemiological characteristics of foodborne disease outbreaks on campus in Shandong Province as a reference basis for effective prevention and control of foodborne diseases on campus.MethodsThe surveillance data of foodborne disease outbreaks on campus in Shandong Province reported by the National Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance Network from 2014 to 2021， were collected. The epidemiological characteristics， such as onset time， onset area， pathogenic factors， causative foods and initiating links， were analyzed.ResultsA total of 425 foodborne disease outbreaks on campus were reported in Shandong Province， with a total of 5 147 cases， with an average annual incidence of about 643 cases， 653 cases of hospitalization， and 0 cases of death. No pathogenic factors were identified in 83.1% （353/425） of the outbreaks， and no causative food was identified in 22.4% （95/425） of outbreaks. The number of outbreak events caused by microbial factors was the largest， accounting for 76.4% （55/72） of the outbreak events with known etiology. Bacillus cereus and Salmonella were the most common pathogens， accounting for 25.5% （14/55） and 21.8% （12/55） of microbial outbreak events， respectively. The most common reasons were mixed food （18.1%，77/425）， a variety of foods （15.3%，65/425）， meat and meat products （13.7%，58/425）， and grain products （8.9%，38/425）. September is the high month； the trigger factors were multiple， followed by improper processing， improper storage and misuse of food.ConclusionSchools and relevant departments of food safety management should conduct regular training for cafeteria staff and food safety education for students， strictly keep food samples for each meal， and strengthen collaboration among all departments to improve incident identification rates.

Keywords

• foodborne disease
• outbreak
• surveillance network
• epidemiological characteristics