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. 2021 Oct 15;3(42):889–893. doi: 10.46234/ccdcw2021.219

Table 2. Number and proportion of foodborne disease outbreaks, illnesses, and deaths by etiology in China, 2020.

Etiology Outbreaks Illnesses Deaths Fatality rate* (%)
Number Proportion (%) Number Proportion (%) Number Proportion (%)
* Refers to uncooked Phaseolusbeans. Contained in uncooked soy milk. § Including wild flowers, hellebore, wild ginseng, pollen, daffodils, and wild fruits, etc. Including bee pupae and silkworm pupae. **Including dog liver, insects, fish gall, toads and ants, etc. †† Including Shigella, Aeromonas, Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter flaudus, Schneider, and Enterococcus, etc. §§ Including Carbamates, organophosphates, pyrethroids, paraquat, bromfamethamine and bromadiolone, etc. Including clenbuterol hydrochloride, xylazine, and tetramine. ***Including lead, engine oil, desiccant, chlorine dioxide, and detergent, etc.
Poisonous mushrooms 2,705 38.2 9,111 24.3 80 55.9 0.9
Plant and animal toxicants 1,020 14.4 4,584 12.2 21 14.7 0.5
Undercooked Phaseolus* 318 4.5 1,526 4.1 0 0.0 0.0
Coriaria sinica 111 1.6 354 1.0 0 0.0 0.0
Potherb 93 1.3 355 1.0 1 0.7 0.3
Aconite 84 1.2 337 1.0 12 8.4 3.6
Bitter bottle gourd 48 0.7 381 1.0 0 0.0 0.0
Tungoil or seed 46 0.7 238 0.6 0 0.0 0.0
Hyoscyamine 33 0.5 183 0.5 1 0.7 0.6
Herb-medicine 27 0.4 110 0.3 0 0.0 0.0
Elephant’s-ear 24 0.3 86 0.2 0 0.0 0.0
Sproutedpotato/solanine 17 0.2 97 0.3 2 1.4 2.1
Colchicin 12 0.2 78 0.2 0 0.0 0.0
Gelsemine 11 0.2 64 0.2 3 2.1 4.7
Castor bean 10 0.1 58 0.2 0 0.0 0.0
Pokeberry root 10 0.1 42 0.1 1 0.7 2.4
Sago seed 10 0.1 36 0.1 0 0.0 0.0
Barbados nut 9 0.1 41 0.1 0 0.0 0.0
Undercooked soymilk/Trypsin inhibitor 3 0.0 18 0.1 0 0.0 0.0
Other plants toxicants§ 83 1.2 285 0.8 0 0.0 0.0
Fish roe 19 0.3 51 0.1 0 0.0 0.0
Tetrodotoxin 15 0.2 53 0.1 1 0.7 1.9
Pupae 13 0.2 60 0.2 0 0.0 0.0
langoustine 10 0.1 25 0.1 0 0.0 0.0
Other animal toxicants** 14 0.2 106 0.3 0 0.0 0.0
Bacterial 766 10.8 10,483 28.0 16 11.2 0.2
Salmonella 286 4.0 3,446 9.2 4 2.8 0.1
Vibrio parahaemolyticus 128 1.8 1,848 4.9 0 0.0 0.0
Staphylococcus aureus 75 1.1 954 2.6 0 0.0 0.0
Escherichia coli 54 0.8 1,520 4.1 0 0.0 0.0
Bacillus cereus 50 0.7 620 1.7 0 0.0 0.0
Bacillus proteus 10 0.1 149 0.4 0 0.0 0.0
Clostridium perfringens 5 0.1 287 0.8 0 0.0 0.0
Bongkrek acid†† 5 0.1 23 0.1 12 8.4 52.2
Campylobacter jejuni 3 0.0 133 0.4 0 0.0 0.0
Clostridium botulinum 3 0.0 10 0.0 0 0.0 0.0
Listeria monocytogenes 1 0.0 28 0.1 0 0.0 0.0
Others 108 1.5 807 2.2 0 0.0 0.0
2 or more pathogens 12 0.2 224 0.6 0 0.0 0.0
Norovirus 26 0.4 434 1.2 0 0.0 0.0
Chemical agents 163 2.3 922 2.5 22 15.4 2.4
Nitrite 80 1.1 457 1.2 5 3.5 1.1
Pesticide§§ 53 0.8 255 0.7 2 1.4 0.8
Prohibited drugs 10 0.1 115 0.3 1 0.7 0.9
Methanol 9 0.1 56 0.2 14 9.8 25.0
Other chemical pollutants*** 11 0.2 39 0.1 0 0.0 0.0
Fungi 7 0.1 27 0.1 0 0.0 0.0
Parasitic 1 0.0 4 0.0 0 0.0 0.0
Unknown etiology 2,411 34.1 12,323 32.9 4 2.8 0.0
Total 7,073 100.0 37,454 100.0 143 100.0 0.4