scholarly journals Development and implementation of a scalable and versatile test for COVID-19 diagnostics in rural communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ceci ◽  
C. Muñoz-Ballester ◽  
A. N. Tegge ◽  
K. L. Brown ◽  
R. A. Umans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Clinical Specimens ◽  
Detection Assay ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Testing Center

AbstractRapid and widespread testing of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential for an effective public health response aimed at containing and mitigating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Successful health policy implementation relies on early identification of infected individuals and extensive contact tracing. However, rural communities, where resources for testing are sparse or simply absent, face distinctive challenges to achieving this success. Accordingly, we report the development of an academic, public land grant University laboratory-based detection assay for the identification of SARS-CoV-2 in samples from various clinical specimens that can be readily deployed in areas where access to testing is limited. The test, which is a quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)-based procedure, was validated on samples provided by the state laboratory and submitted for FDA Emergency Use Authorization. Our test exhibits comparable sensitivity and exceeds specificity and inclusivity values compared to other molecular assays. Additionally, this test can be re-configured to meet supply chain shortages, modified for scale up demands, and is amenable to several clinical specimens. Test development also involved 3D engineering critical supplies and formulating a stable collection media that allowed samples to be transported for hours over a dispersed rural region without the need for a cold-chain. These two elements that were critical when shortages impacted testing and when personnel needed to reach areas that were geographically isolated from the testing center. Overall, using a robust, easy-to-adapt methodology, we show that an academic laboratory can supplement COVID-19 testing needs and help local health departments assess and manage outbreaks. This additional testing capacity is particularly germane for smaller cities and rural regions that would otherwise be unable to meet the testing demand.

scholarly journals Development and Implementation of a scalable and versatile test for COVID-19 diagnostics in rural communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ceci ◽  
C. Muñoz-Ballester ◽  
A. Tegge ◽  
K.L. Brown ◽  
R.A. Umans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Clinical Specimens ◽  
Detection Assay ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Testing Center ◽  
Respiratory Coronavirus

ABSTRACTRapid and widespread testing of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential for an effective public health response aimed at containing and mitigating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Successful health policy implementation relies on early identification of infected individuals and extensive contact tracing.However, rural communities, where resources for testing are sparse or simply absent, face distinctive challenges to achieving this success. Accordingly, we report the development of an academic, public land grant University laboratory-based detection assay for the identification of SARS-CoV-2 in samples from various clinical specimens that can be readily deployed in areas where access to testing is limited. The test, which is a quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)-based procedure, was validated on samples provided by the state laboratory and submitted for FDA Emergency Use Authorization. Our test exhibits comparable sensitivity and exceeds specificity and inclusivity values compared to other molecular assays. Additionally, this test can be re-configured to meet supply chain shortages, modified for scale up demands, and is amenable to several clinical specimens. Test development also involved 3D engineering critical supplies and formulating a stable collection media that allowed samples to be transported for hours over a dispersed rural region without the need for a cold-chain. These two elements that were critical when shortages impacted testing and when personnel needed to reach areas that were geographically isolated from the testing center. Overall, using a robust, easy-to-adapt methodology, we show that an academic laboratory can supplement COVID-19 testing needs and help local health departments assess and manage outbreaks. This additional testing capacity is particularly germane for smaller cities and rural regions that would otherwise be unable to meet the testing demand.

scholarly journals Training and Incorporating Students in SARS-CoV-2 Case Investigations and Contact Tracing

2020 ◽  
pp. 003335492097466
Author(s):  
Kristen Pogreba Brown ◽  
Erika Austhof ◽  
Ayeisha M. Rosa Hernández ◽  
Caitlyn McFadden ◽  
Kylie Boyd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Call Center ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Data Quality Control ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response

Objectives In June 2020, Arizona had the fastest-growing number of cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide. As part of the growing public health response, the University of Arizona Student Aid for Field Epidemiology Response (SAFER) team was able to modify and increase case investigation efforts to assist local health departments. We outline the recommended logistical and management steps to include students in a public health response of this scope. Methods From April 1 through September 1, 2020, the SAFER team identified key components of a successful student team response: volunteer training, management that allows more senior students to manage newer students, adoption of case-management software, and use of an online survey platform for students to conduct interviews consistently and allow for data quality control and management. Results From April 1 through September 1, 2020, SAFER worked with 3 local health departments to complete 1910 COVID-19 case investigations through a virtual call center. A total of 233 volunteers and 46 hourly student workers and staff members were involved. As of September 2020, students were completing >150 interviews per week, including contact-tracing efforts. Practice Implications Developing relationships between applied public health and academic programs can relieve the burden of low-risk, high-volume case investigations at local and state health departments. Furthermore, by establishing a virtual call center, health sciences faculty and students can volunteer remotely during a pandemic with no additional risk of infection.

scholarly journals United States response to the COVID-19 pandemic, January–November 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Mathew Alexander ◽  
Lynn Unruh ◽  
Andriy Koval ◽  
William Belanger
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
United States Healthcare

Abstract As of November 2020, the United States leads the world in confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths. Over the past 10 months, the United States has experienced three peaks in new cases, with the most recent spike in November setting new records. Inaction and the lack of a scientifically informed, unified response have contributed to the sustained spread of COVID-19 in the United States. This paper describes major events and findings from the domestic response to COVID-19 from January to November 2020, including on preventing transmission, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, ensuring sufficient physical infrastructure and healthcare workforce, paying for services, and governance. We further reflect on the public health response to-date and analyse the link between key policy decisions (e.g. closing, reopening) and COVID-19 cases in three states that are representative of the broader regions that have experienced spikes in cases. Finally, as we approach the winter months and undergo a change in national leadership, we highlight some considerations for the ongoing COVID-19 response and the broader United States healthcare system. These findings describe why the United States has failed to contain COVID-19 effectively to-date and can serve as a reference in the continued response to COVID-19 and future pandemics.

scholarly journals A Second-Order Disaster? Digital Technologies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512094816
Author(s):  
Mirca Madianou
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The One

One of the most striking features of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom has been the disproportionate way in which it has affected Black, Asian, ethnic minority, and working class people. In this article, I argue that digital technologies and data practices in the response to COVID-19 amplify social inequalities, which are already accentuated by the pandemic, thus leading to a “second-order disaster”—a human-made disaster which further traps disadvantaged people into precarity. Inequalities are reproduced both in the everyday uses of technology for distance learning and remote work as well as in the public health response. Applications such as contact tracing apps raise concerns about “function creep”—the reuse of data for different purposes than the one for which they were originally collected—while they normalize surveillance which has been traditionally used on marginalized communities. The outsourcing of the digital public health response consolidates the arrival of the privatized digital welfare state, which increases risks of potential discrimination.

Corynebacterium hindlerae sp. nov., derived from a human granuloma, which forms black colonies and black halos on modified Tinsdale medium but is not closely related to Corynebacterium diphtheriae and related taxa

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn A. Bernard ◽  
Tamara Burdz ◽  
Ana Luisa Pacheco ◽  
Deborah Wiebe ◽  
Anne-Marie Bernier
Keyword(s):  
Diphtheria Toxin ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Corynebacterium Diphtheriae ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Potassium Tellurite ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Corynebacterium Ulcerans ◽  
Health Response

Corynebacterium diphtheriae , Corynebacterium belfantii , Corynebacterium rouxii , Corynebacterium ulcerans , Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and Corynebacterium silvaticum are the only taxa from among ~121 Corynebacterium species deemed potentially able to harbour diphtheria tox genes. Subsequently tox-gene bearing species may potentially produce diphtheria toxin, which is linked to fatal respiratory distress if a pharyngeal pseudomembrane is formed or toxaemia develops in those unimmunized or under-immunized. Detection of diphtheria toxin-producing species may also invoke a public health response and contact tracing. Recovery of such species from the respiratory tract or other contaminated sources such as non-healing ulcerative wounds are expedited by use of differential and selective media such as modified Tinsdale medium (MTM). This medium is supplemented with potassium tellurite, which supresses most normal flora present in contaminated specimens, as well as l-cystine and thiosulphate. Most diphtheria-tox-gene bearing species grow well on MTM, producing black colonies with a black halo around each colony. This is due to an ability to produce cystinase in the presence of tellurite, cystine and thiosulphate, resulting in black tellurium deposits being observed in the agar. Other Corynebacterium species may/may not be able to grow at all in the presence of tellurite but if able to grow, will have small beige or brownish colonies which do not exhibit black halos. We describe here an unusual non-tox-gene-bearing isolate, NML 93-0612T, recovered from a human wrist granuloma, which produced black colonies with black halos on MTM agar but was otherwise distinguishable from Corynebacterium species which can bear tox genes. Distinctive features included its unusual colony morphology on MTM and sheep blood agar, by proteomic, biochemical and chemotaxonomic properties and by molecular methods. Its genome contained 2 680 694 bytes, a G+C content of 60.65 mol% with features consistent with the genus Corynebacterium and so represents a new species for which we propose the name Corynebacterium hindlerae sp. nov.

scholarly journals Italian Public Health Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Case Report from the Field, Insights and Challenges for the Department of Prevention

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 3666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuele Torri ◽  
Luca Gino Sbrogiò ◽  
Enrico Di Rosa ◽  
Sandro Cinquetti ◽  
Fausto Francia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Case Report ◽  
Organizational Capacity ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Local Health Authority ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Italian National Health Service

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is rapidly progressing globally, and Italy, as one of the main pandemic hotspots, may provide some hard lessons for other countries. In this paper, we summarize the current organizational capacity and provide a pragmatic and narrative account of strategies and activities implemented by the Department of Prevention (Dipartimento di Prevenzione)—the regional entity of the Local Health Authority of the Italian National Health Service in charge of public health—since the beginning of the outbreak. We conduct a preliminary analysis of general strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of the response strategies from a local perspective. Furthermore, we provide firsthand insights on future directions and priorities to manage this unprecedented pandemic. Our case report gives a qualitative view of the healthcare response, based on the experience of frontline professionals, with the aim to generate hypotheses about factors which may promote or hinder the prevention and management of a pandemic locally. We highlight the importance of a public health approach for responding to COVID-19 and reshaping healthcare systems.

scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 positivity in asymptomatic-screened dental patients

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
DI Conway ◽  
S Culshaw ◽  
M Edwards ◽  
C Clark ◽  
C Watling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Healthcare Team ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Dental Services ◽  
Dental Patients ◽  
Symptom Screening ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Nasal Swab Sample ◽  
Dental Setting

AbstractEnhanced community surveillance is a key pillar of the public health response to COVID-19. Asymptomatic carriage of SARS-CoV-2 is a potentially significant source of transmission, yet remains relatively poorly understood. Disruption of dental services continues with significantly reduced capacity. Ongoing precautions include pre- and/or at appointment COVID-19 symptom screening and use of enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE). This study aimed to investigate SARS-CoV-2 infection in dental patients to inform community surveillance and improve understanding of risks in the dental setting. Thirty-one dental care centres across Scotland invited asymptomatic screened patients over 5-years-old to participate. Following verbal consent and completion of sociodemographic and symptom history questionnaire, trained dental teams took a combined oropharyngeal and nasal swab sample using standardised VTM-containing testkits. Samples were processed by the Lighthouse Lab and patients informed of their results by SMS/e-mail with appropriate self-isolation guidance in the event of a positive test. Over a 13-week period (from 3August to 31October2020) n=4,032 patients, largely representative of the population, were tested. Of these n=22 (0.5%; 95%CI 0.5%, 0.8%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The positivity rate increased over the period, commensurate with uptick in community prevalence identified across all national testing monitoring data streams. All positive cases were successfully followed up by the national contact tracing program. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of a COVID-19 testing survey in asymptomatic-screened patients presenting in a dental setting. The positivity rate in this patient group reflects the underlying prevalence in community at the time. These data are a salient reminder, particularly when community infection levels are rising, of the importance of appropriate ongoing Infection Prevention Control and PPE vigilance, which is relevant as healthcare team fatigue increases as the pandemic continues. Dental settings are a valuable location for public health surveillance.

scholarly journals Developing a Minimum Dataset for a Mobile-based Contact Tracing System for the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa Shanbehzadeh ◽  
Hadi Kazemi-Arpanahi
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
National Level ◽  
Delphi Survey ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Scientific Databases ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Data Elements ◽  
Minimum Dataset

Context: Contact tracing is a cornerstone community-based measure for augmenting public health response preparedness to epidemic diseases such as the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, there is no an agreed data collection tool for the unified reporting of COVID-19 contact tracing efforts at the national level. Objectives: The purpose of this research was to determine the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Minimal Dataset (COV-CT-MDS) as a prerequisite to develop a mobile-based contact racing system for the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: This study was carried out in 2020 by a combination of literature review coupled with a two-round Delphi survey. First, the probable data elements were identified using an extensive literature review in scientific databases, including PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Science Direct, and Web of Science (WOS). Then, the core data elements were validated using a two-round Delphi survey. Results: Out of 388 articles, 24 were eligible to be included in the study. By the full-text study of the included articles and after the Delphi survey, the designed COV-CT-MDS was categorized into two clinical and administrative data sections, nine data classes, and 81 data fields. Conclusions: COV-CT-MDS is an efficient and valid tool that could provide a basis for collecting comprehensive and standardized data on COVID-19 contact tracing. It could also provide scientific teamwork for health care authorities, which may lead to the enhanced quality of documentation, research, and surveillance outcomes.

scholarly journals First Local Transmission Cluster of COVID-19 in Malaysia: Public Health Response

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 124-130
Author(s):  
Noor Ani Ahmad ◽  
Chong Zhuo Lin ◽  
Sunita Abd Rahman ◽  
Muhammad Haikal bin Ghazali ◽  
Ezy Eriyani Nadzari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Index Case ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Imported Case ◽  
Health Response ◽  
History Of ◽  
Local Transmission ◽  
Close Contacts ◽  
Inter State

Introduction: Rapid public health response is important in controlling the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we described the public health response taken by the Ministry of Health of Malaysia in managing the first local transmission cluster of COVID-19 related to mass-gathering and inter-state traveling to celebrate a festival. Methods: We summarized strategies implemented by the Malaysia Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) in managing the first local transmission of COVID-19. We collected information related to the epidemiological investigation of this cluster and described the inter-state network in managing the outbreak. Results: This first local transmission of COVID-19 in Malaysia had a history of contact with her older brother, the index case, who was the first Malaysian imported case. Only two positive cases were detected out of 59 contacts traced from the index case. Close contacts with infected person/s, inter-state movement, and public/family gatherings were identified as the sources of transmission. A large number of contacts were traced from inter-state traveling, and family gatherings during the festive season, and health consultations and treatment. Conclusion: Close contacts from inter-state movement and public/family gatherings were identified as the source of transmission. Family or public gatherings during festivals or religious events should be prohibited or controlled in COVID-19 prevalent areas. A structured surveillance system with rapid contact tracing is significant in controlling the transmission of COVID-19 in the community.

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