Spatiotemporal Cluster Patterns of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease at the County Level in Mainland China, 2008-2012.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is known to be a highly contagious childhood illness. In recent years, the number of reported cases of HFMD has significantly increased in mainland China. This study aims at the epidemiological features, spatiotemporal patterns of HMFD at the county/district level in mainland China.

Methods

Data on reported HFMD cases for each county from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2012 were obtained from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Cluster analysis, spatial autocorrelation, and retrospective scan methods were used to explore the spatiotemporal patterns of the disease.

Results

The annual incidences varied greatly among the counties, ranging from 0 to 74.31‰ with the median of 5.42‰ (interquartile range: 1.54

SUBMITTER: Wang C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4726594 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature