Epidemiological study of scarlet fever in Shenyang City, China

Abstract

Objectives: To depict the Spatiotemporal epidemiological characteristics of the incidence of scarlet fever in Shenyang, China, in 2018 so as to provide the scientific basis for effective strategies of scarlet control and prevention. Methods: Excel 2010 was used to demonstrate the temporal distribution at the month level and ArcGIS10.3 was used to demonstrate the spatial distribution at the district/county level. Moran’s autocorrelation coefficient was used to examine the spatial autocorrelation and the Getis-Ord statistic was used to determine the hot-spot areas of scarlet fever. Results: A total of 2,314 scarlet fever cases were reported in Shenyang in 2018 with an annual incidence of 31.24 per 100,000. The incidence among males was higher than that among females(X2=95.013, P≤0.001). A vast majority of the cases (96.89%) were among children aged 3 to 11 years. The highest incidence was 625.34/100,000 in children aged 5-9 years. There are two seasonal peaks occurred in June (Summer-peak) and in December (Winter-peak) in 2018. The incidence of scarlet fever in urban areas was significantly higher than that in rural areas(X2=514.115, P≤0.001).The incidence of scarlet fever was randomly distributed in Shenyang. There are hot-spots areas located in seven districts. Conclusions: Urban areas are the hot spots of scarlet fever and joint prevention and control measures between districts should be applied. Children in the kindergartens and the primary school students are the main population of scarlet fever and the time distribution of scarlet fever is highly consistent with their school and vacation time. It is suggested that measure for prevention and control of scarlet fever in kindergartens and primary schools is the key to control the epidemic of scarlet fever.