ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of norovirus clustering and outbreaks in schools and kindergartens in China, so as to provide references for prevention and control of outbreaks.@*Methods@#A descriptive epidemiological method was used to analyze outbreaks of Norovirus in schools and kindergartens in China during 2014-2018 , the indicators which was analyzed and compared including attack rate, duration of the outbreak, reporting interval.@*Results@#A total of 832 Norovirus outbreaks were reported by schools and kindergartens in China from 2014 to 2018. The total number of outbreaks showed an upward trend with an average annual growth rate of 58%. The number of reported cases was 40 445 but there was no death. Norovirus outbreaks mainly occurred in primary schools (42%), followed by kindergartens and middle schools (both 24%), university (6%) and 77 outbreaks (4%) were reported in universities and other schools. The peak seasons were March to May, November and December each year. Jiangsu Province and Guangdong Province (both 22%) reported the largest number of outbreaks. The main transmission of norovirus outbreaks was through direct person contact (72%), foodborne (4%) and waterborne (3%) caused fewer outbreaks than direct person contact. The duration of the epidemic was positively correlated with the reporting interval (r=0.63, P<0.05) and the number of cases per outbreak (r=0.51, P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#Disinfection treatment of vomitus should be standardized in schools and kindergartens. Timely detection, reporting, disposal of the epidemic can effectively control the spread of norovirus outbreaks.
ABSTRACT
Timely reporting, effective analyses and rapid distribution of surveillance data can assist in detecting the aberration of disease occurrence and further facilitate a timely response. In China, a new nationwide web-based automated system for outbreak detection and rapid response was developed in 2008. The China Infectious Disease Automated-alert and Response System (CIDARS) was developed by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention based on the surveillance data from the existing electronic National Notifiable Infectious Diseases Reporting Information System (NIDRIS) started in 2004. NIDRIS greatly improved the timeliness and completeness of data reporting with real time reporting information via the Internet. CIDARS further facilitates the data analysis, aberration detection, signal dissemination, signal response and information communication needed by public health departments across the country. In CIDARS, three aberration detection methods are used to detect the unusual occurrence of 28 notifiable infectious diseases at the county level and to transmit that information either in real-time or on a daily basis. The Internet, computers and mobile phones are used to accomplish rapid signal generation and dissemination, timely reporting and reviewing of the signal response results. CIDARS has been used nationwide since 2008; all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China at the county, prefecture, provincial and national levels are involved in the system. It assists with early outbreak detection at the local level and prompts reporting of unusual disease occurrences or potential outbreaks to CDCs throughout the country.