Epidemiological characterization of Salmonella food poisoning events in China, 2004—2019

ObjectiveTo analyze the epidemiological characteristics of the occurrence of Salmonella food poisoning in China and to provide a basis for the development of preventive and control measures.MethodsFood poisoning events caused by Salmonella were collected and organized in the Public Health Emergency Reporting Management System of China’s Disease Control and Prevention Information System， and analyzed using descriptive epidemiological methods.ResultsFrom 2004 to 2019， 460 Salmonella food poisoning incidents were reported nationwide， with 26 732 illnesses and 16 deaths， for a case-fatality rate of 0.06%.A higher number of incidents were reported between May and September， accounting for 63.91% of the total number of incidents；The number of incidents where the traceability of samples was completed and the suspected food was clarified was 57.39%；The largest number of Salmonella-contaminated single food types were meat products， followed by bakery and egg products， which accounted for 22.39%， 8.48% and 5.22% of the total number of incidents， in that order.The provinces with the highest number of reported Salmonella food poisoning incidents nationwide were， in descending order， Yunnan Province， Sichuan Province and Guangdong Province， accounting for 15.87%， 11.09% and 10.65% of the total number of incidents， respectively；The main places where incidents occurred were food service establishments， rural banquets and households， accounting for 47.17%， 26.09%， and 16.09% of the total number of incidents， respectively.Serotyping of Salmonella spp. was completed in 182 incidents， with Salmonella enteritidis （56.04%， 102/182）， Salmonella typhimurium （14.29%， 26/182） and Salmonella Dublin （5.49%， 10/182） being the most frequently detected.ConclusionIt is recommended to focus on the risk of Salmonella contamination of meat，bakery，egg foods and their products， strengthen the food safety supervision of rural banquets， hotels and collective canteens，enhance safety publicity， monitoring and early warning， reporting and investigation， and traceability and identification of Salmonella in the summer and fall when the incidence of Salmonella food poisoning is high.