scholarly journals The effect of early-stage public health policies on the transmission of COVID-19 in South American countries

Author(s):  
Bryan Valcarcel ◽  
Jose L Avilez ◽  
J. Smith Torres-Roman ◽  
Julio A Poterico ◽  
Janina Bazalar-Palacios ◽  
...  

Objectives: The analysis of transmission dynamics is crucial to determine whether mitigation or suppression measures reduce the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study sought to estimate the basic (R0) and time-varying (Rt) reproduction number of COVID-19 and contrast the public health measures for ten South American countries. Methods: Data was obtained from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Country-specific R0 estimates during the first two weeks of the outbreak and Rt estimates after 90 days were estimated. Results: Countries used a combination of isolation, physical distancing, quarantine, and community-wide containment measures to staunch the spread of COVID-19 at different points in time. R0 ranged from 1.52 (95% confidence interval: 1.13-1.99) in Venezuela to 3.83 (3.04-4.75) in Chile, whereas Rt after 90 days ranged from 0.71 (95% credible interval: 0.39-1.05) in Uruguay to 1.20 (1.19-1.20) in Brazil. Different R0 and Rt values may be related to the testing capacity of each country. Conclusion: R0 in the early phase of the outbreak varied across the South American countries. The public health measures adopted in the initial period of the pandemic appear to have reduced Rt over time in each country, albeit to different levels.

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Bryan Valcarcel ◽  
Jose L. Avilez ◽  
J. Smith Torres-Roman ◽  
Julio A. Poterico ◽  
Janina Bazalar-Palacios ◽  
...  

Objectives. The analysis of transmission dynamics is crucial to determine whether mitigation or suppression measures reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study sought to estimate the basic (R0) and time-varying (Rt) reproduction number of COVID-19 and contrast the public health measures for ten South American countries. Methods. Data was obtained from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Country-specific R0 values during the first two weeks of the outbreak and Rt values after 90 days were estimated. Results. Countries used a combination of isolation, physical distancing, quarantine, and community-wide containment measures to staunch the spread of COVID-19 at different points in time. R0 ranged from 1.52 (95% confidence interval: 1.13-1.99) in Venezuela to 3.83 (3.04-4.75) in Chile, whereas Rt after 90 days ranged from 0.71 (95% credible interval: 0.39-1.05) in Uruguay to 1.20 (1.19-1.20) in Brazil. Different R0 and Rt values may be related to the testing capacity of each country. Conclusion. R0 in the early phase of the outbreak varied across the South American countries. The public health measures adopted in the initial period of the pandemic appear to have reduced Rt over time in each country, albeit to different levels.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanuel Yigezu ◽  
Mezgebu Mengistu ◽  
Alemnesh Mikuzie

Abstract Background: The COVID-19, illness caused by a novel coronavirus, is the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness in Wuhan, Hubei Province China beginning in 31 December 2019. The direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic and the public health measures taken to prevent the distribution of the pandemic on mortality and morbidity, and social and economic status of the community are enormous. The public health measures against the pandemic such as school closure, unemployment and business shutdown incur cost on the society; reduce the provision and quality of health services due to the diversion of resource allocation to COVID-19 response (prevention and control) activities; result in negative influence on the healthcare seeking behavior of the society; and increase cost of seeking healthcare due to reduced global pharmaceutical supply chain. Evidence-based decision is crucial to prevent and manage the catastrophic impact of a pandemic and its public health measures. The aim of this review is to systematically review economic evaluation of interventions to respond to coronavirus pandemics in the global perspective. We included researches on influenza pandemic and COVID-19 as there are only few studies conducted in COVID-19.Method: A full and partial economic analysis conducted on influenza and COVID-19 pandemic published in English language between 2012 and 2020 will be eligible. Studies with and without comparators will be included. We will build an exhaustive database search strategy in the global health cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) registry, PubMed, African Journals online and Elsevier for relevant studies. We will do a hand-searching of cited research and bibliographies of all identified relevant studies. Two authors will independently select potentially eligible titles and abstracts, extract data from selected studies using structured collection form after a pre-test and do a risk of bias assessment. Third author will be involved if there is disagreement between the two. If variation of extracted data between the reviewers is observed, the phase will be repeated, and if discrepancies between data extractors continued, third reviewer will be involved. We will use a narrative summary and tables to summarize the result and characteristics of eligible studies. In addition, attempts will be made to change reports in case and death averted to disability life year averted (DALY) averted.Discussion: Unless a careful decision is made to control a pandemic; the health, economy, social, and political aspect of countries will be in impacted. Public health measures that are implemented to respond to a pandemic should be cost-effective. This review will systematically analyze economic evaluation studies conducted on influenza and COVID-19 pandemics and synthesize evidence for public health measures. This review will further identify existing gaps in research for more studies. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO: CRD42020192384


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Yue Yu ◽  
Chen Xu ◽  
Hu-Wen Wang ◽  
Rui-Jie Chang ◽  
Yin-Qiao Dong ◽  
...  

Abstract In the past five months, success in control the national epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been witnessed in China. The implementation of public health measures accounts for the success which include different interventions in the early or later stages of the outbreak. It is clear that although not all measures were universally effective worldwide, their achievements have been significant. More solidarity is needed to deal with this global pandemic with more learning and understanding. Understanding which of the public health interventions implemented in China were effective may provide ideas for international epidemic control.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-156
Author(s):  
Somda S.M.A. ◽  
Dabone E.B.A. ◽  
Doulougou M. ◽  
Bationo C.S. ◽  
Galboni K.T.M.

In this article, we propose a Bayesian approach for estimating and predicting the magnitude of the coronavirus epidemic in Burkina Faso in its early stage. Our approach is inspired by the work of Wang et al. but adapted to the Burkinabe context. Two models are presented: a simple Bayesian SIR approach and another Bayesian SIR which takes into account the public health measures undertaken by the government of Burkina Faso. The approach was implemented at the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Burkina Faso, covering the period from March 9 to April 30, 2020. The results of the analyses will allow a good prediction of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the early days of the epidemic, considering government policies.


Author(s):  
Markus Frischhut

This chapter discusses the most important features of EU law on infectious diseases. Communicable diseases not only cross borders, they also often require measures that cross different areas of policy because of different vectors for disease transmission. The relevant EU law cannot be attributed to one sectoral policy only, and thus various EU agencies participate in protecting public health. The key agency is the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Other important agencies include the European Environment Agency; European Food Safety Authority; and the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency. However, while integration at the EU level has facilitated protection of the public's health, it also has created potential conflicts among the different objectives of the European Union. The internal market promotes the free movement of products, but public health measures can require restrictions of trade. Other conflicts can arise if protective public health measures conflict with individual human rights. The chapter then considers risk assessment and the different tools of risk management used in dealing with the challenges of infectious diseases. It also turns to the external and ethical perspective and the role the European Union takes in global health.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002218562110000
Author(s):  
Michele Ford ◽  
Kristy Ward

The labour market effects in Southeast Asia of the COVID-19 pandemic have attracted considerable analysis from both scholars and practitioners. However, much less attention has been paid to the pandemic’s impact on legal protections for workers’ and unions’ rights, or to what might account for divergent outcomes in this respect in economies that share many characteristics, including a strong export orientation in labour-intensive industries and weak industrial relations institutions. Having described the public health measures taken to control the spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam, this article analyses governments’ employment-related responses and their impact on workers and unions in the first year of the pandemic. Based on this analysis, we conclude that the disruption caused to these countries’ economies, and societies, served to reproduce existing patterns of state–labour relations rather than overturning them.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarissa Giebel ◽  
Kerry Hanna ◽  
Manoj Rajagopal ◽  
Aravind Komuravelli ◽  
Jacqueline Cannon ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Sudden public health restrictions can be difficult to comprehend for people with cognitive deficits. However, these are even more important for them to adhere to due to their increased levels of vulnerability, particularly to COVID-19. With a lack of previous evidence, we explored the understanding and changes in adherence to COVID-19 public health restrictions over time in people living with dementia (PLWD). Methods Unpaid carers and PLWD were interviewed over the phone in April 2020, shortly after the nationwide UK lockdown, with a proportion followed up from 24th June to 10th July. Participants were recruited via social care and third sector organisations across the UK, and via social media. Findings A total of 70 interviews (50 baseline, 20 follow-up) were completed with unpaid carers and PLWD. Five themes emerged: Confusion and limited comprehension; Frustration and burden; Putting oneself in danger; Adherence to restrictions in wider society; (Un) changed perceptions. Most carers reported limited to no understanding of the public health measures in PLWD, causing distress and frustration for both the carer and the PLWD. Due to the lack of understanding, some PLWD put themselves in dangerous situations without adhering to the restrictions. PLWD with cognitive capacity who participated understood the measures and adhered to these. Discussion In light of the new second wave of the pandemic, public health measures need to be simpler for PLWD to avoid unwilful non-adherence. Society also needs to be more adaptive to the needs of people with cognitive disabilities more widely, as blanket rules cause distress to the lives of those affected by dementia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Jaruwan Viroj ◽  
Julien Claude ◽  
Claire Lajaunie ◽  
Julien Cappelle ◽  
Anamika Kritiyakan ◽  
...  

Leptospirosis has been recognized as a major public health concern in Thailand following dramatic outbreaks. We analyzed human leptospirosis incidence between 2004 and 2014 in Mahasarakham province, Northeastern Thailand, in order to identify the agronomical and environmental factors likely to explain incidence at the level of 133 sub-districts and 1,982 villages of the province. We performed general additive modeling (GAM) in order to take the spatial-temporal epidemiological dynamics into account. The results of GAM analyses showed that the average slope, population size, pig density, cow density and flood cover were significantly associated with leptospirosis occurrence in a district. Our results stress the importance of livestock favoring leptospirosis transmission to humans and suggest that prevention and control of leptospirosis need strong intersectoral collaboration between the public health, the livestock department and local communities. More specifically, such collaboration should integrate leptospirosis surveillance in both public and animal health for a better control of diseases in livestock while promoting public health prevention as encouraged by the One Health approach.


2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. S160-S165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne S. Ringel ◽  
Melinda Moore ◽  
John Zambrano ◽  
Nicole Lurie

ABSTRACTObjective: To assess the extent to which the systems in place for prevention and control of routine annual influenza could provide the information and experience needed to manage a pandemic.Methods: The authors conducted a qualitative assessment based on key informant interviews and the review of relevant documents.Results: Although there are a number of systems in place that would likely serve the United States well in a pandemic, much of the information and experience needed to manage a pandemic optimally is not available.Conclusions: Systems in place for routine annual influenza prevention and control are necessary but not sufficient for managing a pandemic, nor are they used to their full potential for pandemic preparedness. Pandemic preparedness can be strengthened by building more explicitly upon routine influenza activities and the public health system’s response to the unique challenges that arise each influenza season (eg, vaccine supply issues, higher than normal rates of influenza-related deaths). (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3(Suppl 2):S160–S165)


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-346
Author(s):  
Fernando Pazos ◽  
◽  
Flavia E. Felicioni ◽  

The recent worldwide epidemic of COVID-19 disease, for which there are no medications to cure it and the vaccination is still at an early stage, led to the adoption of public health measures by governments and populations in most of the affected countries to avoid the contagion and its spread. These measures are known as nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), and their implementation clearly produces social unrest as well as greatly affects the economy. Frequently, NPIs are implemented with an intensity quantified in an ad hoc manner. Control theory offers a worthwhile tool for determining the optimal intensity of the NPIs in order to avoid the collapse of the healthcare system while keeping them as low as possible, yielding concrete guidance to policymakers. A simple controller, which generates a control law that is easy to calculate and to implement is proposed. This controller is robust to large parametric uncertainties in the model used and to some level of noncompliance with the NPIs.


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