The epidemiological characteristics of notifiable infectious diseases in a Yunnan hospital, China, 2014–2023

Yunnan, particularly its border area, has consistently been identified with a high incidence of infectious diseases in China. We aimed to determine the incidence of notifiable infectious diseases (NIDs) by analyzing their distribution in a tertiary hospital located in Yunnan border. Data on NIDs from January 2014 to December 2023 were extracted from the national reporting system. Descriptive analyses of the demographic, seasonal, and geographical distributions were conducted after categorizing the diseases into four groups: respiratory, blood-borne or sexually transmitted, digestive, and natural foci/vector-borne diseases. A total of 5,760 NIDs have been reported over the past ten years. Respiratory infectious diseases (51.88%) and blood-borne/sexually transmitted diseases (45.28%) were the mainly categories. The male-to-female incidence ratio was 1.84 (3,729 vs. 2,031 cases). Most patients with blood-borne/sexually transmitted diseases were 40–54 years old, while most patients with respiratory infections were over 55 years old. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of respiratory diseases exceeded others. Cases showed a clear seasonal pattern and a pronounced geographic concentration, with Honghe Prefecture alone accounting for 76.11% of all reported cases. Over the past decade, respiratory and blood-borne/sexually transmitted diseases were the predominant categories of NIDs in this Yunnan border hospital, with a significant burden on adult males and a marked geographic concentration in Honghe Prefecture. The observed dominance of respiratory diseases following the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need to prioritize the prevention and control of respiratory infections, particularly among the elderly.