Epidemic characteristics of hand-foot-mouth disease in Inner Mongolia,2008-2013

Objective To find out epidemiological characteristics and pathogen type of hand-foot-mouth disease(HFMD)in Inner Mongolia and to provide scientific evidences for making prevention and control strategies.Methods Descriptive epidemiological methods were used to describe the epidemic characteristics of HFMD in Inner Mongolia from 2008 to 2013 and analytical statistical methods were used to analyze pathogenic detection results of HFMD.Results Totally 115 316 HFMD cases were reported in Inner Mongolia,with the annual morbidity of 32.15,133.64,78.16,93.94,66.62,and 66.40 per 100 000 people,respectively,during the six-year period.The yearly incidence peak was observed from June to July and 58.48% of the cases were younger children aged ≤ 3 years.Among 2 775 cases with laboratory diagnosis,the positive rates of enterovirus 71(EV71),coxsackievirus 16(CA16) and other enteroviruses were 42.92%,32.11%,and 24.97%,respectively.There were significantly statistical differences in the positive rates of EV71,CA16 and other enteroviruses in different years(χ²＝401.76,P<0.05).Conclusion The morbidity of HFMD in Inner Mongolia declined year by year from 2008 to 2013.There was an obvious seasonality in HFMD prevalence and the majority of the incidents were scattered-living younger children.The main pathogens of HFMD epidemic were EV71 and CA16,and EV71 was the dominant prevalent strain.