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. 2020 Jul 9;33(6):421–430. doi: 10.3967/bes2020.057

Epidemiological Characteristics of Notifiable Infectious Diseases among Foreign Cases in China, 2004–2017

Yue WU a, Zhen Jun LI b, Shi Cheng YU a, Liang CHEN a, Ji Chun WANG a, Yu QIN a, Yu Dan SONG a, George F GAO a,c,d, Xiao Ping DONG a,e, Li Ping WANG a,#, Qun ZHANG a,#, Guang Xue HE a,#
PMCID: PMC7347353  PMID: 32641205

Abstract

Objective

We aimed to assess the features of notifiable infectious diseases found commonly in foreign nationals in China between 2004 and 2017 to improve public health policy and responses for infectious diseases.

Methods

We performed a descriptive study of notifiable infectious diseases among foreigners reported from 2004 to 2017 in China using data from the Chinese National Notifiable Infectious Disease Reporting System (NNIDRIS). Demographic, temporal-spatial distribution were described and analyzed.

Results

A total of 67,939 cases of 33 different infectious diseases were reported among foreigners. These diseases were seen in 31 provinces of China and originated from 146 countries of the world. The infectious diseases with the highest incidence number were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) of 18,713 cases, hepatitis B (6,461 cases), hand, foot, and mouth disease (6,327 cases). Yunnan province had the highest number of notifiable infectious diseases in foreigners. There were different trends of the major infectious diseases among foreign cases seen in China and varied among provinces.

Conclusions

This is the first description of the epidemiological characteristic of notifiable infectious diseases among foreigners in China from 2004 to 2017. These data can be used to better inform policymakers about national health priorities for future research and control strategies.

Key words: Foreign cases, Notifiable infectious diseases, Epidemiological characteristics

Biography

Biographical note of the first author: WU Yue, female, born in 1990, PhD Candidate, majoring in infectious diseases.

Footnotes

This work was sponsored by National Science and Technology Major Project [No. 2016ZX10004222-001].

Contributor Information

Li Ping WANG, Email: wanglp@chinacdc.cn.

Qun ZHANG, Email: zhangqun@chinacdc.cn.

Guang Xue HE, Email: hegx@chinacdc.cn.

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Supplementary Material

Supplementary appendix
mmc1.pdf (615.3KB, pdf)

Associated Data

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Supplementary Materials

Supplementary appendix
mmc1.pdf (615.3KB, pdf)

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