Abstract

BackgroundBrucellosis is a major public health issue in China, while its temporal and spatial distribution have not been studied in depth. This study aims to better understand the epidemiology of brucellosis in the mainland of China, by investigating the human, temporal and spatial distribution and clustering characteristics of the disease.MethodsHuman brucellosis data from the mainland of China between 2012 and 2016 were obtained from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention. The spatial autocorrelation analysis of ArcGIS10.6 and the spatial-temporal scanning analysis of SaTScan software were used to identify potential changes in the spatial and temporal distribution of human brucellosis in the mainland of China during the study period.ResultsA total of 244 348 human brucellosis cases were reported during the study period of 2012–2016. The average incidence of human brucellosis was higher in the 40–65 age group. The temporal clustering analysis showed that the high incidence of brucellosis occurred between March and July. The spatial clustering analysis showed that the location of brucellosis clustering in the mainland of China remained relatively fixed, mainly concentrated in most parts of northern China. The results of the spatial-temporal clustering analysis showed that Heilongjiang represents a primary clustering area, and the Tibet, Shanxi and Hubei provinces represent three secondary clustering areas.ConclusionsHuman brucellosis remains a widespread challenge, particularly in northern China. The clustering analysis highlights potential high-risk human groups, time frames and areas, which may require special plans and resources to monitor and control the disease.

Highlights

  • Brucellosis is a major public health issue in China, while its temporal and spatial distribution have not been studied in depth

  • Brucellosis is a widespread zoonosis caused by Brucella species, which can result in considerable human suffering and huge economic loss in livestock [1,2,3]

  • While the first reported cases were two foreign patients in Shanghai in 1905, which were recorded as Malta fever, several patients in China with similar clinical symptoms had been observed during the 10 years preceding that report

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Summary

Introduction

Brucellosis is a major public health issue in China, while its temporal and spatial distribution have not been studied in depth. This study aims to better understand the epidemiology of brucellosis in the mainland of China, by investigating the human, temporal and spatial distribution and clustering characteristics of the disease. In China, human brucellosis remains a major public health issue. In 2015, the incidence of the human cases reached 4.18/100 000, rising from the 16th place in 2000 to the 6th place in 2014 in the ranking of statutory infectious diseases. Such a strong upward trend is extremely rare among all reported infectious diseases

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