tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
BMC Infect Dis
. 2021 Feb 27;21(1):226.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-021-05874-6.
The lab-confirmed interval of COVID-19 clusters and its application in the strength evaluation of prevention and control measures
Lihong Huang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Liangmin Wei[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Yue Jiang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Lijuan Lin[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: The lab-confirmed interval is the date from lab confirmation in a core case (infector) to lab confirmation in a second case (infectee); however, its distribution and application are seldom reported. This study aimed to investigate the lab-confirmed interval and its application in the preliminary evaluation of the strength of disease prevention and control measures.
Methods: Taking European countries and Chinese provinces outside Hubei as examples, we identified 63 infector-infectee pairs from European countries from Wikipedia, and 103 infector-infectee pairs from official public sources in Chinese provinces outside Hubei. The lab-confirmed intervals were obtained through analysis of the collected data and adopting the bootstrap method.
Results: The mean lab-confirmed interval was 2.6 (95% CI: 2.1-3.1) days for Europe and 2.6 (95% CI: 1.9-3.3) days for China outside Hubei, which were shorter than the reported serial intervals. For index patients aged ≥60 years old, the lab-confirmed interval in Europe was slightly longer (mean: 2.9; 95% CI: 2.0-3.6) and obviously longer in China outside Hubei (mean: 3.8; 95% CI: 1.9-5.5) than that for patients aged < 60 years.
Conclusion: Investigation of the lab-confirmed interval can provide additional information on the characteristics of emergent outbreaks and can be a feasible indication to evaluate the strength of prevention and control measures. When the lab-confirmed interval was shorter than the serial interval, it could objectively reflect improvements in laboratory capacity and the surveillance of close contacts.
Keywords: Clustered epidemic; Lab-confirmed interval; Laboratory capacity; Novel coronavirus disease.
. 2021 Feb 27;21(1):226.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-021-05874-6.
The lab-confirmed interval of COVID-19 clusters and its application in the strength evaluation of prevention and control measures
Lihong Huang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Liangmin Wei[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Yue Jiang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Lijuan Lin[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33639863
- DOI: 10.1186/s12879-021-05874-6
Abstract
Background: The lab-confirmed interval is the date from lab confirmation in a core case (infector) to lab confirmation in a second case (infectee); however, its distribution and application are seldom reported. This study aimed to investigate the lab-confirmed interval and its application in the preliminary evaluation of the strength of disease prevention and control measures.
Methods: Taking European countries and Chinese provinces outside Hubei as examples, we identified 63 infector-infectee pairs from European countries from Wikipedia, and 103 infector-infectee pairs from official public sources in Chinese provinces outside Hubei. The lab-confirmed intervals were obtained through analysis of the collected data and adopting the bootstrap method.
Results: The mean lab-confirmed interval was 2.6 (95% CI: 2.1-3.1) days for Europe and 2.6 (95% CI: 1.9-3.3) days for China outside Hubei, which were shorter than the reported serial intervals. For index patients aged ≥60 years old, the lab-confirmed interval in Europe was slightly longer (mean: 2.9; 95% CI: 2.0-3.6) and obviously longer in China outside Hubei (mean: 3.8; 95% CI: 1.9-5.5) than that for patients aged < 60 years.
Conclusion: Investigation of the lab-confirmed interval can provide additional information on the characteristics of emergent outbreaks and can be a feasible indication to evaluate the strength of prevention and control measures. When the lab-confirmed interval was shorter than the serial interval, it could objectively reflect improvements in laboratory capacity and the surveillance of close contacts.
Keywords: Clustered epidemic; Lab-confirmed interval; Laboratory capacity; Novel coronavirus disease.