Foodborne disease outbreaks in Jiangxi Province from 2012 to 2021

ObjectiveTo provide a scientific basis to establish further prevention and control strategies， the epidemiological characteristics of foodborne disease outbreaks from 2012 to 2021 in Jiangxi Province was analyzed.MethodsDescriptive analysis was conducted using foodborne disease outbreak data obtained from the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Reporting System for Jiangxi Province from 2012 to 2021.ResultsFrom 2012 to 2021， a total of 1 285 cases， 7，222 illnesses， and 48 deaths due to foodborne disease outbreaks occurred in Jiangxi Province. The case fatality rate was 0.66% （48/7 222）. Further， the mortality rates were found to statistically significantly differ among the different years （P≤0.001）. The number of foodborne disease outbreaks tended to increase within the 10 years， and most incidents occurred from May to September. Among the 768 confirmed single etiologic agents， poisonous mushroom was the cause of most incidents （50.78%； 390/768） and deaths （93.75%； 45/48）. Microbiological agents were responsible for most illnesses （49.41%； 2 266/4 586）. Salmonella and Vibrio parahaemolyticus were identified as the main pathogenic bacteria. Foodborne disease outbreaks mainly occurred among families and in catering services， with families having the largest number of incidents （64.75%； 832/285） and deaths （95.83%； 46/48）. Notably， the main pathogenic factor was poisonous mushrooms. Catering services were associated with the largest number of illnesses （51.77%； 3 739/7 222）， with microbiological agents as the main pathogenic factor.ConclusionPoisonous mushrooms caused the most deaths and mainly affected families. Microbial pathogenic factors were the main pathogenic factors in places offering catering services and schools. Rural families should be educated on the harm associated with the consumption of wild mushroom. Moreover， the supervision and management of food safety and health education should be promoted to reduce the incidence of foodborne disease and death.