Analysis of the epidemiological characteristics of foodborne diseases caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus from 2018 to 2022

ObjectiveTo analyze the epidemic characteristics of foodborne diseases caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Jiangsu Province from 2018 to 2022 and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on these characteristics.MethodsCollect data of active surveillance of foodborne diseases from 2018 to 2022 in Jiangsu Province and use descriptive epidemiological methods to analyze the epidemic characteristics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and the changes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsFrom 2018 to 2022， a total of 1 268 cases of foodborne diseases caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus were detected in Jiangsu Province， with an overall detection rate of 2.15% （1 268/58 918）. The detection rate during the pandemic period （1.66%， 585/35 280） was significantly lower than before the pandemic （2.89%， 683/23 638） （χ²=101.897， P<0.001）. The most common clinical symptom was watery diarrhea （80.52%）. During the pandemic， the proportions of symptoms such as nausea， vomiting， and abdominal pain have significantly decreased compared to before the pandemic. Specifically， the proportions decreased from 54.03% to 41.54% for nausea， from 48.90% to 42.56% for vomiting， and from 64.28% to 49.74% for abdominal pain. There was a seasonal increase in the incidence of cases from July to September（73.42%）. The detection rate in the central part of Jiangsu decreased the most during the pandemic period （χ²=86.833， P<0.001）， dropping from 3.06% to 0.57% .The detection rate of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in female cases was higher than in male cases， especially during the pandemic period （1.92%， 1.43%， χ²=12.860， P<0.001）.Before the pandemic， the detection rate of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in cases aged from 19 to 39 was the highest （4.25%， 353/8 314）. Specifically， the positive detection rates among farmers， migrant workers， and industrial workers significantly declined from 3.47% to 0.93% （χ²=83.098， P<0.001）. Similarly， the detection rates among individuals engaged in the catering， food， and commercial service industries also decreased from 5.30% to 2.29% （χ²=13.197， P<0.001）.During the COVID-19 pandemic， the detection rates of cases associated with various food categories decreased. Specifically， the detection rate in cases exposed to aquatic animals and their products decreased from 6.42% to 3.61% （χ²=18.272， P<0.001）， and the detection rate in cases related to meat and meat products decreased from 3.87% to 1.76%（χ²=43.056， P<0.001） .ConclusionFrom 2018 to 2022， the number and detection rate of foodborne diseases caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Jiangsu Province generally showed a downward trend， and the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the epidemiological characteristics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. This trend has positive implications for public health security， reflecting the effectiveness of public health measures and providing important references for the prevention and control of foodborne diseases in the future.