Descriptive Study of Foodborne Disease Using Case Monitoring Data in Shandong Province, China, 2016–2017

BACKGROUND: In order to generate data on the burden of foodborne diseases in Shandong Province, we aimed to use the case monitoring data of foodborne diseases from 2016 to 2017 to estimate. METHODS: Data were obtained from the foodborne disease surveillance reporting system with dates of onset from Jan 1, 2016, to Dec 31, 2017, in Shandong, China. RESULTS: The places of food exposure were categorized by settings as follows: private home, catering facility, collective canteens, retail markets, rural banquets and other. Exposed food is divided into 23 categories. Overall incidence rate and proportions by exposure categories, age, and sex-specific incidence rates were calculated and sex proportions compared. Approximately 75.00% of cases who had at least one exposure settings were in private homes. The most frequently reported exposed food was a variety of food (meaning more than two kinds of food). The two-year average incidence rate was 75.78/100,000, sex-specific incidence rate was much higher for females compared to males (78.23 vs. 74.69 cases per 100,000 population). An age-specific trend was observed in the cases reported (Chi-Square for linear trend, χ(2)=4.39, P=0.036<0.05). CONCLUSION: A preliminary estimate of 14 million cases of foodborne diseases in Shandong province each year. Future studies should focus on cross-sectional and cohort studies to facilitate the assessment of the distribution and burden of foodborne disease of the population in Shandong. Considering strengthening the burden of foodborne diseases in foodborne disease surveillance is also a feasible way.