Table 1.
Demographic and epidemiological characteristics of patients with acute meningitis and encephalitis in China during 2009‒2018.
| Characteristics | All patients (N=20,454) | At least one virus tested (n=15,101) | At least one bacterium tested (n=9,115) | All viruses tested (n=9,079) | All bacteria tested (n=6,802) | All pathogens tested (n=1,951) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex, male, n (%) | 12,956 (63.34) | 9,493 (62.86) | 5,793 (63.55) | 5,704 (62.83) | 4,369 (64.23) | 1,229 (62.99) |
| Age, year, median (IQR) | 7 (3-26) | 6 (3-18) | 15 (4-42) | 6 (3-23) | 17 (3-43) | 25 (6-48) |
| Age group, n (%) | ||||||
| Children (<5 years) | 7,666 (37.48) | 5,820 (38.54) | 2,593 (28.45) | 3,467 (38.19) | 2,003 (29.45) | 373 (19.12) |
| <6 months | 1,122 (5.49) | 559 (3.70) | 713 (7.82) | 363 (4.00) | 567 (8.34) | 79 (4.05) |
| 6‒12 months | 736 (3.60) | 507 (3.36) | 316 (3.47) | 333 (3.67) | 251 (3.69) | 43 (2.20) |
| 1‒ years | 1,855 (9.07) | 1,460 (9.67) | 544 (5.97) | 853 (9.40) | 426 (6.26) | 75 (3.84) |
| 2‒ years | 1,395 (6.82) | 1,122 (7.43) | 387 (4.25) | 624 (6.87) | 295 (4.34) | 51 (2.61) |
| 3‒ years | 1,307 (6.39) | 1,103 (7.30) | 310 (3.40) | 648 (7.14) | 235 (3.45) | 62 (3.18) |
| 4‒ years | 1,251 (6.12) | 1,069 (7.08) | 323 (3.54) | 646 (7.12) | 229 (3.37) | 63 (3.23) |
| 5‒17 years old | 6,506 (31.81) | 5,445 (36.06) | 2,158 (23.68) | 3,063 (33.74) | 1,459 (21.45) | 478 (24.50) |
| 18‒59 years old | 5,123 (25.05) | 3,077 (20.38) | 3,598 (39.47) | 2,099 (23.12) | 2,751 (40.44) | 870 (44.59) |
| ≥60 years old | 1,159 (5.67) | 759 (5.03) | 766 (8.40) | 450 (4.96) | 589 (8.66) | 230 (11.79) |
| Days from disease onset to clinic visit, median (IQR) | 3 (1-6) | 3 (1-6) | 2 (0-6) | 3 (1-6) | 2 (0-6) | 3 (1-6) |
| Case type, n (%) | ||||||
| Inpatient | 16,729 (81.79) | 12,286 (81.36) | 7,376 (80.92) | 7,344 (80.89) | 5,399 (79.37) | 1,406 (72.07) |
| Outpatient | 3,725 (18.21) | 2,815 (18.64) | 1,739 (19.08) | 1,735 (19.11) | 1,403 (20.63) | 545 (27.93) |
| Surveillance location, n (%) | ||||||
| Northern China | 8,134 (39.77) | 7,178 (47.53) | 2,554 (28.02) | 4,170 (45.93) | 1,524 (22.41) | 563 (28.86) |
| Southern China | 12,320 (60.23) | 7,923 (52.47) | 6,561 (71.98) | 4,909 (54.07) | 5,278 (77.59) | 1,388 (71.14) |
Data are n (percentage %) unless otherwise indicated. Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding. IQR, interquartile range. Provinces located in southern and northern China were defined according to latitude.