RESUMEN

This review aimed to provide an overview of the literature assessing the extent of COVID-19 transmission in the food processing sector along with the risk factors associated with COVID-19 infection/mortality rates in this setting, and the preventive measures used to reduce transmission. An electronic search was conducted using scientific databases, including Web of Science, OVID, PubMed and MedRxiv. The search strategy identified 26 papers that met the inclusion criteria. Six of these studies were based in the UK and the country with the most papers was the USA, with a total of nine papers. Findings showed some evidence of a high transmission level of SARS-CoV-2 within some areas of the food production sector. Risk factors associated with the spread included ethnicity, poor ventilation, lack of social distancing and lack of sick pay. The preventative measures included/recommended were social distancing, testing, adequate ventilation, cleaning regimes and access to PPE. Additional research focusing on the food production sector could show the potential variations in transmission and risk between each sub-sector. Future research focusing on the application of various preventative measures and their efficacy by sub-sector would be beneficial, while further qualitative research could help provide in-depth information regarding knowledge gaps.

Asunto(s)

COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19/epidemiología , COVID-19/prevención & control , Humanos , Ventilación

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted Europe, resulting in a high caseload and deaths that varied by country. The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has breached the borders of Europe. Public health surveillance is necessary to inform policy and guide leaders. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide advanced surveillance metrics for COVID-19 transmission that account for weekly shifts in the pandemic, speed, acceleration, jerk, and persistence, to better understand countries at risk for explosive growth and those that are managing the pandemic effectively. METHODS: We performed a longitudinal trend analysis and extracted 62 days of COVID-19 data from public health registries. We used an empirical difference equation to measure the daily number of cases in Europe as a function of the prior number of cases, the level of testing, and weekly shift variables based on a dynamic panel model that was estimated using the generalized method of moments approach by implementing the Arellano-Bond estimator in R. RESULTS: New COVID-19 cases slightly decreased from 158,741 (week 1, January 4-10, 2021) to 152,064 (week 2, January 11-17, 2021), and cumulative cases increased from 22,507,271 (week 1) to 23,890,761 (week 2), with a weekly increase of 1,383,490 between January 10 and January 17. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom had the largest 7-day moving averages for new cases during week 1. During week 2, the 7-day moving average for France and Spain increased. From week 1 to week 2, the speed decreased (37.72 to 33.02 per 100,000), acceleration decreased (0.39 to -0.16 per 100,000), and jerk increased (-1.30 to 1.37 per 100,000). CONCLUSIONS: The United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal, in particular, are at risk for a rapid expansion in COVID-19 transmission. An examination of the European region suggests that there was a decrease in the COVID-19 caseload between January 4 and January 17, 2021. Unfortunately, the rates of jerk, which were negative for Europe at the beginning of the month, reversed course and became positive, despite decreases in speed and acceleration. Finally, the 7-day persistence rate was higher during week 2 than during week 1. These measures indicate that the second wave of the pandemic may be subsiding, but some countries remain at risk for new outbreaks and increased transmission in the absence of rapid policy responses.

Asunto(s)

COVID-19/epidemiología , Vigilancia en Salud Pública , Europa (Continente)/epidemiología , Humanos , Estudios Longitudinales

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 global pandemic has disrupted structures and communities across the globe. Numerous regions of the world have had varying responses in their attempts to contain the spread of the virus. Factors such as public health policies, governance, and sociopolitical climate have led to differential levels of success at controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Ultimately, a more advanced surveillance metric for COVID-19 transmission is necessary to help government systems and national leaders understand which responses have been effective and gauge where outbreaks occur. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to provide advanced COVID-19 surveillance metrics for Canada at the country, province, and territory level that account for shifts in the pandemic including speed, acceleration, jerk, and persistence. Enhanced surveillance identifies risks for explosive growth and regions that have controlled outbreaks successfully. METHODS: Using a longitudinal trend analysis study design, we extracted 62 days of COVID-19 data from Canadian public health registries for 13 provinces and territories. We used an empirical difference equation to measure the daily number of cases in Canada as a function of the prior number of cases, the level of testing, and weekly shift variables based on a dynamic panel model that was estimated using the generalized method of moments approach by implementing the Arellano-Bond estimator in R. RESULTS: We compare the week of February 7-13, 2021, with the week of February 14-20, 2021. Canada, as a whole, had a decrease in speed from 8.4 daily new cases per 100,000 population to 7.5 daily new cases per 100,000 population. The persistence of new cases during the week of February 14-20 reported 7.5 cases that are a result of COVID-19 transmissions 7 days earlier. The two most populous provinces of Ontario and Quebec both experienced decreases in speed from 7.9 and 11.5 daily new cases per 100,000 population for the week of February 7-13 to speeds of 6.9 and 9.3 for the week of February 14-20, respectively. Nunavut experienced a significant increase in speed during this time, from 3.3 daily new cases per 100,000 population to 10.9 daily new cases per 100,000 population. CONCLUSIONS: Canada excelled at COVID-19 control early on in the pandemic, especially during the first COVID-19 shutdown. The second wave at the end of 2020 resulted in a resurgence of the outbreak, which has since been controlled. Enhanced surveillance identifies outbreaks and where there is the potential for explosive growth, which informs proactive health policy.

Asunto(s)

COVID-19/epidemiología , COVID-19/prevención & control , Vigilancia en Salud Pública/métodos , Canadá/epidemiología , Humanos , Estudios Longitudinales

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the global COVID-19 pandemic, has severely impacted Central Asia; in spring 2020, high numbers of cases and deaths were reported in this region. The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is currently breaching the borders of Central Asia. Public health surveillance is necessary to inform policy and guide leaders; however, existing surveillance explains past transmissions while obscuring shifts in the pandemic, increases in infection rates, and the persistence of the transmission of COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to provide enhanced surveillance metrics for SARS-CoV-2 transmission that account for weekly shifts in the pandemic, including speed, acceleration, jerk, and persistence, to better understand the risk of explosive growth in each country and which countries are managing the pandemic successfully. METHODS: Using a longitudinal trend analysis study design, we extracted 60 days of COVID-19-related data from public health registries. We used an empirical difference equation to measure the daily number of cases in the Central Asia region as a function of the prior number of cases, level of testing, and weekly shift variables based on a dynamic panel model that was estimated using the generalized method of moments approach by implementing the Arellano-Bond estimator in R. RESULTS: COVID-19 transmission rates were tracked for the weeks of September 30 to October 6 and October 7-13, 2020, in Central Asia. The region averaged 11,730 new cases per day for the first week and 14,514 for the second week. Infection rates increased across the region from 4.74 per 100,000 persons to 5.66. Russia and Turkey had the highest 7-day moving averages in the region, with 9836 and 1469, respectively, for the week of October 6 and 12,501 and 1603, respectively, for the week of October 13. Russia has the fourth highest speed in the region and continues to have positive acceleration, driving the negative trend for the entire region as the largest country by population. Armenia is experiencing explosive growth of COVID-19; its infection rate of 13.73 for the week of October 6 quickly jumped to 25.19, the highest in the region, the following week. The region overall is experiencing increases in its 7-day moving average of new cases, infection, rate, and speed, with continued positive acceleration and no sign of a reversal in sight. CONCLUSIONS: The rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic requires novel dynamic surveillance metrics in addition to static metrics to effectively analyze the pandemic trajectory and control spread. Policy makers need to know the magnitude of transmission rates, how quickly they are accelerating, and how previous cases are impacting current caseload due to a lag effect. These metrics applied to Central Asia suggest that the region is trending negatively, primarily due to minimal restrictions in Russia.

Asunto(s)

COVID-19/epidemiología , COVID-19/transmisión , Personal Administrativo , Armenia/epidemiología , Asia Central/epidemiología , Azerbaiyán/epidemiología , Benchmarking , Chipre/epidemiología , Dinamarca/epidemiología , Inseguridad Alimentaria , Georgia (República)/epidemiología , Gibraltar/epidemiología , Humanos , Kosovo/epidemiología , Estudios Longitudinales , Pandemias/prevención & control , Salud Pública , Vigilancia en Salud Pública/métodos , Sistema de Registros , República de Macedonia del Norte/epidemiología , Federación de Rusia/epidemiología , SARS-CoV-2 , Turquía/epidemiología , Inseguridad Hídrica

RESUMEN

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has posed immense challenges for healthcare workers, among them are procedures related to suctioning of bodily fluids during surgery or intensive care. These procedures are potentially aerosol-generating and can lead to disease transmission. We have modified the usual suction apparatus in a simple and easy to do manner so that all suctioned material first passes through the 0.1% sodium hypochlorite solution, which is virucidal and decontaminates the suctioned material. This innovation may help in addressing the safety concerns of all healthcare providers working in operation rooms and intensive care units.

Asunto(s)

Infecciones por Coronavirus/prevención & control , Transmisión de Enfermedad Infecciosa de Paciente a Profesional/prevención & control , Pandemias/prevención & control , Neumonía Viral/prevención & control , Succión/instrumentación , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Infecciones por Coronavirus/transmisión , Cuidados Críticos , Humanos , Control de Infecciones/métodos , Neumonía Viral/transmisión , SARS-CoV-2 , Hipoclorito de Sodio , Succión/métodos , Procedimientos Quirúrgicos Operativos

RESUMEN

CONTEXT: India has been witnessing a huge surge of COVID-19 cases, with increasing number of new cases and deaths daily. There is yet no effective vaccine, drug or strategy to combat this disease. Various models of COVID-19 trend and management have been put forward by different researchers, yet no prediction has yet turned out to be close to the reality. AIMS: To find an effective public health strategy against COVID control. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Ahmedabad district in Gujarat. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Ahmedabad Model for control of COVID-19 based on Ct threshold has been put forth which stresses upon the fact that higher viral load (super-spreaders) could be an important determinant in spreading infections in the community. RESULTS: The cycle threshold (Ct)-based segregation of laboratory-confirmed positive cases along with contact tracing of all of them of previous 5 days has been found to be effective strategy and needs to be adopted for further management. The Ahmedabad model of COVID-19 control was practiced during 3rd week of June 2020 onwards. Following implementation, cases started declining in Ahmedabad district whereas it showed an increasing trend in rest of Gujarat where it was not implemented. CONCLUSIONS: Cases with low viral load may be quarantined at home with standard precaution whereas cases with higher viral load need to be quarantined in institutions (hospital or separate premises away from family).