Epidemiology of herpes zoster among adults aged 50 and above in Guangdong, China

Herpes zoster (HZ) exists widely in China and most cases occur among old people, but no epidemiology information of HZ was available. We aimed to investigate the epidemiology characteristics of HZ among adults aged 50 and over in Guangdong, China. A total of 34 counties/districts were randomly selected in Guangdong, and 7149 residents aged 50 and over were investigated by local CDC professionals using accidental sampling method. There were 247 respondents having had HZ before; the lifetime prevalence of HZ among people aged 50 and above in study area was 3.46%. The prevalence in females was higher than that in males. Pearl River Delta had the highest prevalence (5.29%), while Northern Guangdong had the lowest (1.87%). The annual incidence in the year 2013, 2012 and 2011 was 5.8, 3.4 and 4.1 per 1000 person-years, respectively. Detailed investigation of HZ cases showed that all cases meted the definition of HZ and had at least 1 typical symptom. 40% cases had suffered post-herpetic neuralgia. 75.9% cases had sought aid from hospital and 9.1% of them had been hospitalized. People who sought aid from hospital had more serious level of neuralgia. The epidemiology features of HZ in Guangdong were consistent with the current findings in other countries. The results of this study can provide baseline epidemiology information of HZ for further studies.