ABSTRACT
Objective To understand and analyze the epidemiological and pathogenic characteristics of foodborne diseases in Changzhou in the past five years, so as to provide evidence for prevention and control measures. Methods All foodborne disease surveillance information reported by Changzhou foodborne disease sentinel hospital from 2016 to 2020 was collected through the “Foodborne Disease Surveillance and Reporting System”. The distribution of reported cases and etiological results was described, and the possible factors affecting pathogen detection results were analyzed. Results A total of 14 931 cases of foodborne diseases were reported, mainly distributed in summer and autumn, and peaked in July and August. The age group of reported cases was 25-34 years old, and the occupations were mainly workers, and farmers and migrant workers, accounting for 23.2% and 36.9%, respectively. Among the reported cases of 3 120 anal swabs were collected and tested for etiology , of which 291 specimens were positive, with a positive detection rate of 9.32%. Among the 291 positive results of 118 cases of norovirus were detected, with a detection rate of 6.03% . 66 cases of salmonella were detected, with a detection rate of 2.12% . 25 cases of vibrio parahaemolyticus were detected, with a detection rate of 0.80% . 7 cases of diarrhea-causing Escherichia coli was detected, with a detection rate of 0.22% ; and 5 cases of shigella was detected, with a detection rate of 0.16% . Single factor analysis of the results of pathogen detection showed that there were no statistical differences in the distribution of positive pathogen detection rate between males and females, and between different suspicious exposed foods (all P>0.05). There were statistical differences in different age groups, occupations, seasons and eating places (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age and season were correlated with the detection rates of pathogenic microorganisms (all P<0.05) , and age was negatively correlated with the positive rate of pathogenic microorganisms (OR=0.863). The detection rates in the first and fourth quarters were higher than those in the second and third quarters. Conclusion Summer and autumn are the seasons with high incidence of foodborne diseases in Changzhou. Norovirus is the main pathogen. Age and season are closely related to the detection results of pathogenic microorganisms. Comprehensive prevention and control measures should be implemented for key population in summer and autumn to reduce the occurrence and outbreak of foodborne diseases.