Epidemiologic characteristics of Norovirus outbreak in schools and kindergardens in China during 2014-2018 / 中国学校卫生

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.