Stepping up infection control measures in ophthalmology during the novel coronavirus outbreak: an experience from Hong Kong

Background: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is expected to last for an extended time, making strict safety precautions for office procedures unavoidable. The lockdown is going to be lifted in many areas, and strict guidelines detailing the infection control measures for aesthetic clinics are going to be of particular importance. Methods: A virtual meeting was conducted with the members (n = 12) of the European Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery Focus Group to outline the safety protocol for the nonsurgical facial aesthetic procedures for aesthetic practices in order to protect the clinic staff and the patients from SARS-CoV-2 infection. The data analysis was undertaken by thematic and iterative approach. Results: Consensus guidelines for nonsurgical facial aesthetic procedures based on current knowledge are provided for three levels: precautions before visiting the clinic, precautions during the clinic visit, and precautions after the clinic visit. Conclusions: Sound infection control measures are mandatory for nonsurgical aesthetic practices all around the world. These may vary from country to country, but this logical approach can be customized according to the respective country laws and guidelines.

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Just the Facts: Recommendations on point-of-care ultrasound use and machine infection control during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

CJEM ◽

10.1017/cem.2020.364 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 445-449 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Daniel J. Kim ◽

Tomislav Jelic ◽

Michael Y. Woo ◽

Claire Heslop ◽

Paul Olszynski

Keyword(s):

Infection Control ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Control Measures ◽

World Health ◽

Point Of Care Ultrasound ◽

The Novel ◽

Infection Control Measures ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Health Organization ◽

Widespread Interest

The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to be a pandemic on March 11, 2020, and, currently, there are over 10,000 confirmed cases in Canada, with this number expected to grow exponentially. There has been widespread interest in the use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in the management of patients with suspected COVID-19. The CAEP Emergency Ultrasound Committee has developed recommendations on the use of POCUS in these patients, with an emphasis on machine infection control measures.

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Twitter Speaks: An Analysis of Australian Twitter Users' Topics And Sentiments About COVID-19 Vaccination Using Machine Learning (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.26953 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Stephen Wai Hang Kwok ◽

Sai Kumar Vadde ◽

Guanjin Wang

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Public Opinion ◽

Infection Control ◽

Herd Immunity ◽

Control Measures ◽

The Novel ◽

The Public ◽

Infection Control Measures ◽

Twitter Users ◽

Novel Coronavirus

BACKGROUND The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is one of the greatest threats to human beings in terms of healthcare, economy and society in recent history. Up to this moment, there are no signs of remission and there is no proven effective cure. The vaccine is the primary biomedical preventive measure against the novel coronavirus. However, the public bias or sentiments, as reflected on social media, may have a significant impact on the progress to achieve the herd immunity needed principally. OBJECTIVE This study aims to use machine learning methods to extract public topics and sentiments on the COVID-19 vaccination on Twitter. METHODS We collected 31,100 English tweets containing COVID-19 vaccine-related keywords between January and October 2020 from Australian Twitter users. Specifically, we analyzed the tweets by visualizing the high-frequency word clouds and correlations between word tokens. We built the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model to identify the commonly discussed topics from massive tweets. We also performed sentiment analysis to understand the overall sentiments and emotions on COVID-19 vaccination in Australian society. RESULTS Our analysis identified three LDA topics, including "Attitudes towards COVID-19 and its vaccination", "Advocating infection control measures against COVID-19", and "Misconceptions and complaints about COVID-19 control". In all tweets, nearly two-thirds of the sentiments were positive, and around one-third were negative in the public opinion about the COVID-19 vaccine. Among the eight basic emotions, "trust" and "anticipation" were the two prominent positive emotions, while "fear" was the top negative emotion in the tweets. CONCLUSIONS Our new findings indicate that some Australian Twitter users supported infection control measures against COVID-19 and would refute misinformation. However, the others who underestimated the risks and severity of COVID-19 would probably rationalize their position on the COVID-19 vaccine with certain conspiracy theories. It is also noticed that the level of positive sentiment in the public may not be enough to further a vaccination coverage which would be sufficient to achieve vaccination-induced herd immunity. Governments should explore the public opinion and sentiments towards COVID-19 and its vaccination and implement an effective vaccination promotion scheme besides supporting the development and clinical administration of COVID-19 vaccines.

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Coronavirus: Towards controlling of the pandemic - Indian scenario

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽

10.26452/ijrps.v11ispl1.2813 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽

pp. 462-468

Author(s):

Latika kothari ◽

Sanskruti Wadatkar ◽

Roshni Taori ◽

Pavan Bajaj ◽

Diksha Agrawal

Keyword(s):

Control Measures ◽

The Novel ◽

Medical Treatments ◽

Health Crisis ◽

The Public ◽

Infection Control Measures ◽

The Social ◽

Asking Questions ◽

The Government ◽

Novel Coronavirus

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a communicable infection caused by the novel coronavirus resulting in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV). It was recognized to be a health crisis for the general population of international concern on 30th January 2020 and conceded as a pandemic on 11th March 2020. India is taking various measures to fight this invisible enemy by adopting different strategies and policies. To stop the COVID-19 from spreading, the Home Affairs Ministry and the health ministry, of India, has issued the nCoV 19 guidelines on travel. Screening for COVID-19 by asking questions about any symptoms, recent travel history, and exposure. India has been trying to get testing kits available. The government of India has enforced various laws like the social distancing, Janata curfew, strict lockdowns, screening door to door to control the spread of novel coronavirus. In this pandemic, innovative medical treatments are being explored, and a proper vaccine is being hunted to deal with the situation. Infection control measures are necessary to prevent the virus from further spreading and to help control the current situation. Thus, this review illustrates and explains the criteria provided by the government of India to the awareness of the public to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Emerging and Future Challenges for Dental and Oral Medicine

Journal of Dental Research ◽

10.1177/0022034520914246 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 99 (5) ◽

pp. 481-487 ◽

Cited By ~ 364

Author(s):

L. Meng ◽

F. Hua ◽

Z. Bian

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Infection Control ◽

Control Measures ◽

World Health ◽

Infection Control Measures ◽

Dental Practitioners ◽

The World ◽

Essential Knowledge ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Health Organization

The epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), originating in Wuhan, China, has become a major public health challenge for not only China but also countries around the world. The World Health Organization announced that the outbreaks of the novel coronavirus have constituted a public health emergency of international concern. As of February 26, 2020, COVID-19 has been recognized in 34 countries, with a total of 80,239 laboratory-confirmed cases and 2,700 deaths. Infection control measures are necessary to prevent the virus from further spreading and to help control the epidemic situation. Due to the characteristics of dental settings, the risk of cross infection can be high between patients and dental practitioners. For dental practices and hospitals in areas that are (potentially) affected with COVID-19, strict and effective infection control protocols are urgently needed. This article, based on our experience and relevant guidelines and research, introduces essential knowledge about COVID-19 and nosocomial infection in dental settings and provides recommended management protocols for dental practitioners and students in (potentially) affected areas.

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Potential impact of seasonal forcing on a SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

10.1101/2020.02.13.20022806 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Richard A. Neher ◽

Robert Dyrdak ◽

Valentin Druelle ◽

Emma B. Hodcroft ◽

Jan Albert

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Variation ◽

Infection Control ◽

Transmission Rate ◽

Health Care Systems ◽

Control Measures ◽

Rate Variation ◽

Small Peak ◽

Infection Control Measures ◽

Care Systems ◽

Novel Coronavirus

A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) first detected in Wuhan, China, has spread rapidly since December 2019, causing more than 80,000 confirmed infections and 2,700 fatalities (as of Feb 27, 2020). Imported cases and transmission clusters of various sizes have been reported globally suggesting a pandemic is likely.Here, we explore how seasonal variation in transmissibility could modulate a SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Data from routine diagnostics show a strong and consistent seasonal variation of the four endemic coronaviruses (229E, HKU1, NL63, OC43) and we parameterize our model for SARS-CoV-2 using these data. The model allows for many subpopulations of different size with variable parameters. Simulations of different scenarios show that plausible parameters result in a small peak in early 2020 in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and a larger peak in winter 2020/2021. Variation in transmission and migration rates can result in substantial variation in prevalence between regions.While the uncertainty in parameters is large, the scenarios we explore show that transient reductions in the incidence rate might be due to a combination of seasonal variation and infection control efforts but do not necessarily mean the epidemic is contained. Seasonal forcing on SARS-CoV-2 should thus be taken into account in the further monitoring of the global transmission. The likely aggregated effect of seasonal variation, infection control measures, and transmission rate variation is a prolonged pandemic wave with lower prevalence at any given time, thereby providing a window of opportunity for better preparation of health care systems.

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Coronavirus Disease-19 and Dentistry: A Review

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3889/oamjms.2020.5618 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (T1) ◽

pp. 618-621

Author(s):

Fareedi Mukram Ali ◽

Kishor Patil ◽

Elnur Ibrahim Albashir ◽

Abdulhamid Aidarous Alamir

Keyword(s):

Infection Control ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Signs And Symptoms ◽

Control Measures ◽

Clinical Settings ◽

Related Information ◽

Infection Control Measures ◽

Dental Practitioners ◽

Clinical Signs And Symptoms ◽

Novel Coronavirus

Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a novel form of virus with a new strain identified recently in humans. Common clinical signs and symptoms primarily consist of fever, cough, and breathing difficulties. In severe cases, it can results in pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death. It is important to follow all infection control measures in prevention of the nCoV from spreading and controlling the epidemic situation. The risk of cross infection can be high between dental practitioners and patients due to the features of dental clinical settings. Here, we are summarizing the nCoV related information and infection control measures to be followed in dental practice.

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Proactive infection control measures to prevent hospital outbreaks in a regional hospital in Hong Kong: approaching zero outbreaks in a 5-year time period

Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control ◽

10.1186/2047-2994-4-s1-p233 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 4 (S1) ◽

Author(s):

VC Cheng ◽

JW Tai ◽

K-Y Yuen

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Infection Control ◽

Regional Hospital ◽

Control Measures ◽

Infection Control Measures ◽

Time Period

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Prevention of COVID-19 Infection with Personal Protective Equipment

Journal of Disaster Research ◽

10.20965/jdr.2021.p0061 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 61-69

Author(s):

Noriko Shimasaki ◽

Hideaki Morikawa ◽

◽

Keyword(s):

Infectious Disease ◽

Infection Control ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Control Measures ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Modes Of Transmission ◽

Infection Control Measures ◽

Urban Disaster ◽

Asymptomatic Individuals ◽

Novel Coronavirus

A new infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread rapidly worldwide in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic in Japan can be viewed as an urban disaster because transmission of this respiratory disease tends to occur in densely populated areas. A scientific understanding of the pathogen itself, the cause of the disaster (infectious disease), as well as infection control measures, are important to implement robust and appropriate countermeasures. This review discribes the features, especially the modes of transmission, of COVID-19 and the principles by which infection control is possible using one of the most effective infection control measures – personal protective equipment (PPE). Because COVID-19 is often transmitted to others by asymptomatic individuals through droplets, even those who are unaware of their infection should wear masks to prevent the spread of droplets that may contain the virus and effectively control the spread of disease. However, given the worldwide competition for masks and the urgent requirement of effective controls, it is necessary to conduct further research to establish a system that can supply adequate numbers of masks to regions where many people are infected in the country, with no shortage of masks, in order to make the country more resilient to disasters caused by infectious diseases in the future.

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A Physicist View of COVID-19 Airborne Infection through Convective Airflow in Indoor Spaces

SciMedicine Journal ◽

10.28991/scimedj-2020-02-si-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 68-72

Author(s):

Luis Alfredo Anchordoqui ◽

Eugene M. Chudnovsky

Keyword(s):

Control Measures ◽

General Idea ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

The Novel ◽

Major Public Health Issue ◽

Airborne Infection ◽

Confined Spaces ◽

Infection Control Measures ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Indoor Spaces

General Idea: Naturally produced droplets from humans (such as those produced by breathing, talking, sneezing, and coughing) include several types of cells (e.g., epithelial cells and cells of the immune system), physiological electrolytes contained in mucous and saliva (e.g. Na+, K+, Cl-), as well as, potentially, several infectious agents (e.g. bacteria, fungi, and viruses). In response to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, which has become a major public health issue worldwide, we provide a concise overview of airborne germ transmission as seen from a physics perspective. We also study whether coronavirus aerosols can travel far from the immediate neighbourhood and get airborne with the convective currents developed within confined spaces. Methodology: Methods of fluid dynamics are utilized to analyse the behavior of various-size airborne droplets containing the virus. Study Findings: We show that existing vortices in the air can make a location far away from the source of the virus be more dangerous than a nearby (e.g., 6 feet away) location. Practical Implications: Our study reveals that it seems reasonable to adopt additional infection-control measures to the recommended 6 feet social distancing. We provide a recommendation that could help to slow down the spread of the virus.

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