Incidence and determinants of foodborne diseases among children aged 0 – 6 years in Hainan province from 2013 to 2022: an analysis of active surveillance data

Objective To analyze the characteristics and risk factors of foodborne diseases in children aged 0 – 6 years in Hainan province from 2013 to 2022, and to provide evidence for effective prevention and control of the diseases.

Methods Data on childhood foodborne disease cases aged 0 – 6 years registered in active surveillance from 2013 to 2022 were collected from sentinel hospitals of the national foodborne disease surveillance system in Hainan province, and the epidemiologic characteristics and associated foods and pathogens potentially exposed to the cases were analyzed.

Results During the 10-year period, a total of 4 279 cases of foodborne diseases among children aged 0 to 6 years were reported by the sentinel hospitals in the province, including 2 680 cases among boys and 1 599 cases among girls. More cases (1 215, 28.39%) were reported in the third quarter of the year, and more than a third (1 457, 34.05%) of the cases were reported by the sentinel hospitals in the provincial capital. Almost half of the cases (1 966, 45.95%) were between 1 and 2 years of age. The majority of cases (3 366, 83.65%) occurred after eating any food at home; nearly one fifth (823, 20.41%) of cases had onset after eating cereals and their products (starchy sugars, bakery products, and various staple foods) and 1 645 (40.79%) were reported after eating homemade or packaged food at home. Of the 4 279 biological samples collected from the cases, 535 (12.50%) were positive for pathogenic strain isolation; of the 4 183 samples detected, 374 (8.94%) were positive for Salmonella, with more positive samples collected from the cases that occurred between May and August in one year. The detection rate of positive pathogens among cases differed significantly by age group, identity of children, time of incidence, type of samples collected, administrative region of residence, hospitalization, and antibiotic use (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion In Hainan province from 2013 to 2022, among the reported foodborne disease cases aged 0 – 6 years, the majority of cases were aged 1 – 2 years; cereals and their products were among the frequently reported foods exposed to the cases; Salmonella and norovirus were the most frequently detected pathogens in the food samples exposed to the cases. The study results suggest that special attention should be paid to household food hygiene to prevent foodborne disease in young children.