Rapid increase of gonorrhoea cases in Guangdong Province, China, 2014–2017: a review of surveillance data

Objectives An increased trend in the number of reported gonorrhoea cases has been observed between 2014 and 2017 in China. This study aims to describe the reported epidemic of gonorrhoea and potential driving forces in Guangdong Province, China.Design A review of surveillance data.Participants Three...

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Main Authors: Lei Chen, Weiming Tang, Bin Yang, Cheng Wang, Joseph Tucker, Peizhen Zhao, M Kumi Smith, Ngai Sze Wong, Willa Dong, Heping Zheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2019-11-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/11/e031578.full
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author Lei Chen
Weiming Tang
Bin Yang
Cheng Wang
Joseph Tucker
Peizhen Zhao
M Kumi Smith
Ngai Sze Wong
Willa Dong
Heping Zheng
author_facet Lei Chen
Weiming Tang
Bin Yang
Cheng Wang
Joseph Tucker
Peizhen Zhao
M Kumi Smith
Ngai Sze Wong
Willa Dong
Heping Zheng
author_sort Lei Chen
collection DOAJ
description Objectives An increased trend in the number of reported gonorrhoea cases has been observed between 2014 and 2017 in China. This study aims to describe the reported epidemic of gonorrhoea and potential driving forces in Guangdong Province, China.Design A review of surveillance data.Participants Three different sources of data from Guangdong Province were analysed: gonorrhoea cases reported to the Chinese sexually transmitted infections (STI) case report system (CRS); a clinic-based retrospective study conducted to collect information on annual gonorrhoea screening coverage and data from the Guangdong governmental sentinel surveillance network (SSN) to examine the gonorrhoea prevalence among males attending STI clinics.Outcome measures Reported incidence of gonorrhoea, number of reported gonorrhoea cases, number of screening tests for gonorrhoea and gonorrhoea prevalence.Results The STI CRS data showed that the reported incidence of gonorrhoea has increased rapidly from 15.7 cases per 100 000 population in 2014 to 27.3 cases per 100 000 in 2017 in Guangdong (p<0.001). Regions with a reported incidence of gonorrhoea cases of more than 10 cases per 100 000 expanded from 7 cities in 2014 to 13 cities in 2017. The SSN data showed that the gonorrhoea prevalence among males attending STI clinics increased from 2.7% in 2015 to 3.6% in 2017 (p=0.14). The retrospective study showed that the increased rate of screening for gonorrhoea between 2014 and 2017 was 35.0%, which was much lower than the increased rate of the number of reported gonorrhoea cases (123.3%).Conclusions The number of gonococcal infections is rapidly rising in Guangdong, China. Expanded screening coverage, use of more sensitive diagnostics and increase of gonorrhoea prevalence are three potential contributors to the epidemic. Additional targeted intervention strategies are necessary in the future to control the epidemic.
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spelling doaj-art-d68c916ef4e44de0abb2651efb1622c02025-08-20T02:28:27ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552019-11-0191110.1136/bmjopen-2019-031578Rapid increase of gonorrhoea cases in Guangdong Province, China, 2014–2017: a review of surveillance dataLei Chen0Weiming Tang1Bin Yang2Cheng Wang3Joseph Tucker4Peizhen Zhao5M Kumi Smith6Ngai Sze Wong7Willa Dong8Heping Zheng91 State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis andTherapy, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, GuangZhou, ChinaUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Project-China, Guangzhou, China3 Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China2 STD Control, Guangdong Provincial Center for Skin Diseases and STIs control, Guangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK1 STD Control, Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China4 School of Public Health, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA5 Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China2 Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA2 STD Control, Guangdong Provincial Center for Skin Diseases and STIs control, Guangzhou, ChinaObjectives An increased trend in the number of reported gonorrhoea cases has been observed between 2014 and 2017 in China. This study aims to describe the reported epidemic of gonorrhoea and potential driving forces in Guangdong Province, China.Design A review of surveillance data.Participants Three different sources of data from Guangdong Province were analysed: gonorrhoea cases reported to the Chinese sexually transmitted infections (STI) case report system (CRS); a clinic-based retrospective study conducted to collect information on annual gonorrhoea screening coverage and data from the Guangdong governmental sentinel surveillance network (SSN) to examine the gonorrhoea prevalence among males attending STI clinics.Outcome measures Reported incidence of gonorrhoea, number of reported gonorrhoea cases, number of screening tests for gonorrhoea and gonorrhoea prevalence.Results The STI CRS data showed that the reported incidence of gonorrhoea has increased rapidly from 15.7 cases per 100 000 population in 2014 to 27.3 cases per 100 000 in 2017 in Guangdong (p<0.001). Regions with a reported incidence of gonorrhoea cases of more than 10 cases per 100 000 expanded from 7 cities in 2014 to 13 cities in 2017. The SSN data showed that the gonorrhoea prevalence among males attending STI clinics increased from 2.7% in 2015 to 3.6% in 2017 (p=0.14). The retrospective study showed that the increased rate of screening for gonorrhoea between 2014 and 2017 was 35.0%, which was much lower than the increased rate of the number of reported gonorrhoea cases (123.3%).Conclusions The number of gonococcal infections is rapidly rising in Guangdong, China. Expanded screening coverage, use of more sensitive diagnostics and increase of gonorrhoea prevalence are three potential contributors to the epidemic. Additional targeted intervention strategies are necessary in the future to control the epidemic.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/11/e031578.full
spellingShingle Lei Chen
Weiming Tang
Bin Yang
Cheng Wang
Joseph Tucker
Peizhen Zhao
M Kumi Smith
Ngai Sze Wong
Willa Dong
Heping Zheng
Rapid increase of gonorrhoea cases in Guangdong Province, China, 2014–2017: a review of surveillance data
BMJ Open
title Rapid increase of gonorrhoea cases in Guangdong Province, China, 2014–2017: a review of surveillance data
title_full Rapid increase of gonorrhoea cases in Guangdong Province, China, 2014–2017: a review of surveillance data
title_fullStr Rapid increase of gonorrhoea cases in Guangdong Province, China, 2014–2017: a review of surveillance data
title_full_unstemmed Rapid increase of gonorrhoea cases in Guangdong Province, China, 2014–2017: a review of surveillance data
title_short Rapid increase of gonorrhoea cases in Guangdong Province, China, 2014–2017: a review of surveillance data
title_sort rapid increase of gonorrhoea cases in guangdong province china 2014 2017 a review of surveillance data
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/11/e031578.full
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