Epidemic characteristics of school public health emergencies in Hunan Province, 2017-2020
YUE Wen-fang1, DONG Rui2, CAI Fu-wen1, DUAN Hong-ying1, ZHANG Si-yu1, LIU Fu-qiang1
1. Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changsha, Hunan 410005, China; 2. Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410078, China
Abstract：Objective To explore the epidemic and space-gathering characteristics of school public health emergencies in HunanProvince from 2017 to 2020, and to provide evidence for their prevention and control. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of school public health emergencies reported in Hunan Province from 2017 to 2020 through the National Public Health Emergency Reporting and Managemen System. Results A total of 725 school public health emergency events were reported in Hunan Province from 2017 to 2020, including 382 (52.69%) general incidents, 342 (47.17%) unclassified incidents and 1 major incident. Most of the school public health emergency events were caused by infectious diseases, accounting for 97.79% of the total events (709/725), among which the top five diseases were mumps, chicken pox, influenza, other infectious diarrhoea and rhinovirus infection. The double peaks of the school public health emergencies were from April to Juneas well as from October to December in each year investigated. Primary schools (62.34%, 452/725) and junior middle school (16.41%, 119/725) were top two places where the events occurred most frequently. The incidence of the events in different regions was significantly different (χ2=1,924.84, P<0.001), and the incidence rate was significantly higher in rural schools than in the same type of schools in counties, towns and cities. Moreover, there was a significant correlation (rs=0.409, P<0.01) between the duration of epidemic events and the reporting timeliness. Spatial aggregation characteristics (Moran's I=0.124, Z=2.55, P<0.05) were observed in the school public health emergencies in Hunan Province. Conclusion The situation of school public health emergency prevention and control in Hunan Province is still severe; and hence, it is crucial to strengthen prevention and control measures in rural primary and junior middle schools, and improve public health awareness of the schools.
2022, Vol. 29 
