Work

Effects of the non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 epidemic on hand, foot and mouth disease in Qingdao, China

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Since December 2019, COVID-19 has spread rapidly, leading to a global epidemic. The non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were implemented to control the transmission of COVID-19. Previous studies have shown that NPIs have co-benefits for the prevention of other infectious diseases. This study aimed to explore the impact of the NPIs on Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Qingdao, China. METHODS: Monthly reported HFMD cases and pathogens information during 2010-2023 in Qingdao were collected from the China Notifiable Disease Surveillance System. Descriptive epidemiology method was adopted to describe the epidemic trend of HFMD. The seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model was used to estimate the monthly HFMD cases during the COVID-19 period, and assessed the effect of NPIs on HFMD by different years and response levels. The effects across different subgroups stratified by gender and ages were also explored. RESULTS: model. Model prediction showed that the actual value from 2020 to 2022 decreased by 73.32% compared to the predicted values (38,127cases). The greatest relative reduction was in 2020 and the level 1 response period. As the NPIs eased, the HFMD incidence rebounded to historical levels in 2023. The stratified analysis showed the same patterns as the overall trends. CONCLUSIONS: The implementations of NPIs during the COVID-19 pandemic effectively reduced the spread of HFMD. Hence, strengthening public health intervention remains a priority measure for preventing HFMD.

Source: BMC Infectious Diseases

DOI: 10.1186/s12879-025-11838-x