According to the reports of basic health units in this province and the record of our investigation,13 events of collective food poisoning or foodborne infectious diseases occurred in schools of various levels,mainly in primary and middle schools of rural regions in 2002. They included food poisoning of various pathogens,hepatitis A,bacillary dysentery and acute gastroenteritis and involved 773 patients,with one death due to food poisoning.In contrast to the declining tendency of the incidence of such diseases nationwide in 2002,the incidence in Hubei Province rose notably in the same period.This was attributed to a series of causative factors.They include:1.The supply of diet in schools was usually contracted to private businessment whose primary purpose is seeking exorbitant profits.2.The school authorities were remiss in supervising the behavior of the contractors.3.The school canteens usually have poor basic hygienic facilities and hire personnel with little knowledge on food safety.4.The quality of raw materials was not assured.Aimed at solving these problems,corresponding conutermeasures were put forward.