Epidemiological characteristics and spatial clusters of hand,foot,and mouth disease in Ningbo municipality,2008-2012

Objective To investigate epidemiological characteristics and spatial clusters of hand,foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Ningbo municipality from 2008 to 2012.Methods District-specific surveillance data on HFMD from from 2008 to 2012 in Ningbo municipality were collected and analyzed with the epidemiological and spatial autocorrelation methods.Results A total of 63 213 HFMD cases were reported and the reported average annual incidence rate was 173.72/100 000 during the 5-year period.The male to female ratio of the reported cases was 1.57:1.Of the reported cases,90.35% were under the age of 5 years;60.28% were under the age of 3 years;63.39% were children living scattered;34.44% were nursery and kindergarten children;and 2.16% were students.Both incidence rate and spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed that HFMD incidents clustered in Ninghai county and Xiangshan county,which locate at south of Ningbo city.Conclusion HFMD was still prevalent in Ningbo municipality,with a higher incidence rate than the average level of Zhejiang province,and HFMD incidents clustered in Ninghai and Xiangshan counties at southern area of Ningbo city.