Volume 23, Number 1—January 2017
Research
Epidemiology of Human Anthrax in China, 1955−2014
Table
Demographic and diagnostic characteristics of patients with human anthrax, by diagnosis type, China, 2005–2014*
| Characteristic | Probable cases, n = 3,121 | Confirmed cases, n = 258 | Total, n = 3,379 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | |||
| M | 2,273 (72.8) | 210 (81.4) | 2,483 (73.5) |
| F |
848 (27.2) |
48 (18.6) |
896 (26.5) |
| Median age, y, (IQR) |
38 (27–49) |
40 (30–49) |
38 (27–49) |
| Age group, y | |||
| 0–14 | 229 (7.3) | 11 (4.3) | 240 (7.1) |
| 15–19 | 158 (5.1) | 8 (3.1) | 166 (4.9) |
| 20–24 | 230 (7.4) | 20 (7.8) | 250 (7.4) |
| 25–29 | 309 (9.9) | 25 (9.7) | 334 (9.9) |
| 30–34 | 352 (11.3) | 24 (9.3) | 376 (11.1) |
| 35–39 | 415 (13.3) | 34 (13.2) | 449 (13.3) |
| 40–44 | 379 (12.1) | 39 (15.1) | 418 (12.4) |
| 45–49 | 282 (9.0) | 38 (14.7) | 320 (9.5) |
| 50–54 | 212 (6.8) | 18 (7.0) | 230 (6.8) |
| 55–59 | 201 (6.4) | 22 (8.5) | 223 (6.6) |
| 60–64 | 167 (5.4) | 11 (4.3) | 178 (5.3) |
| >65 |
187 (6.0) |
8 (3.1) |
195 (5.8) |
| Occupation | |||
| Farmer or herdsman | 2,700 (86.5) | 231 (89.5) | 2,931 (86.7) |
| Infants or students† | 248 (7.9) | 12 (4.7) | 260 (7.7) |
| Other‡ |
173 (5.5) |
15 (5.8) |
188 (5.6) |
| Rural residence§ |
2,889 (92.6) |
234 (90.7) |
3,123 (92.4) |
| Fatal outcome |
36 (1.2) |
5 (1.9) |
41 (1.2) |
| Clinical forms | |||
| Cutaneous | 3,055 (97.9) | 252 (97.7) | 3,307 (97.9) |
| Inhalational | 0 | 1 (0.4) | 1 (0.0) |
| Gastrointestinal | 5 (0.2) | 1 (0.4) | 6 (0.2) |
| Unknown¶ |
61 (2.0) |
4 (1.6) |
65 (1.9) |
| Median onset to diagnosis interval, d (IQR) |
4.0 (2.0–6.7) |
5.0 (3.0–8.3) |
4.0 (2.4–7.0) |
| Year of illness onset | |||
| 2005 | 497 (15.9) | 38 (14.7) | 535 (15.8) |
| 2006 | 417 (13.4) | 35 (13.6) | 452 (13.4) |
| 2007 | 400 (12.8) | 26 (10.1) | 426 (12.6) |
| 2008 | 309 (9.9) | 29 (11.2) | 338 (10.0) |
| 2009 | 334 (10.7) | 17 (6.6) | 351 (10.4) |
| 2010 | 265 (8.5) | 25 (9.7) | 290 (8.6) |
| 2011 | 279 (8.9) | 30 (11.6) | 309 (9.1) |
| 2012 | 220 (7.1) | 17 (6.6) | 237 (7.0) |
| 2013 | 181 (5.8) | 12 (4.7) | 193 (5.7) |
| 2014 | 219 (7.0) | 29 (11.2) | 248 (7.3) |
*Values are no. (%) unless otherwise indicated. Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding. IQR, interquartile range.
†Infants include children attending and not attending kindergarten. Students include primary, secondary, and college students.
‡Includes teacher, laborers, self-employed and unemployed, workers, food industry personnel, retired persons, and cadres of staff.
§If the residence community was connected to seats of county or municipal government through public facilities, residence facilities and other facilities, or mine area, development zone, research institutes, higher education establishments, farming communities or tree farming communities with >3,000 of permanent residents, it was considered an urban residence. Otherwise, the community was considered a rural residence.
¶No information was available.
1These authors contributed equally to this article.