A Waterborne Gastroenteritis Outbreak Caused by a GII Norovirus in a Holiday Camp in Catalonia (Spain), 2017

On 2 February 2017, Epidemiological Surveillance Services were notified of an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) among schoolchildren who had taken part of a school trip from 30 January to 3 February 2017 at a holiday camp in Catalonia. A retrospective cohort study was performed to identify the causative agent, estimate the magnitude of the outbreak and identify its source, as well as to determine the route of transmission. Data collected by standardised questionnaires identified 41 episodes of AGE among 174 individuals who attended the camp. Cases had mainly symptoms of abdominal pain (73.8%), nausea (64.3%), vomiting (54.8%), diarrhoea (45.2%) and headache (42.9%). Consumption of water was associated with gastroenteritis (crude RR: 1.72, 95%CI: 1.01–2.92; adjusted RR: 1.88, 95%CI 1.03–3.56). NoV GII was detected in faeces (5 out of 13) and water samples. Additionally, faecal indicator bacteria and protozoa were detected in water samples. The outbreak showed a high attack rate and was caused by a natural water fountain not properly treated and not monitored for safety quality. There could have been a discharge of wastewater at a point close to the fountain; however, the source of contamination of the water could not be identified. Health education may be useful to eliminate risks associated with the consumption of untreated water from natural fountains.

Download Full-text

Risk factors of COVID-19 mortality in Morocco: A retrospective cohort study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.27354 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hind Ezzine ◽

Khalid El Amrani ◽

Mounia Addahbi ◽

Mouad Merabet ◽

Ibtissam Khoudri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Retrospective Cohort Study ◽

Retrospective Cohort ◽

Clinical Stage ◽

Clinical Status ◽

Case Fatality ◽

The Elderly ◽

Epidemiological Surveillance ◽

National Monitoring ◽

Therapeutic Protocols

BACKGROUND Since reporting the first Sars-cov-2 infection cases in China, a national monitoring and response plan was developed and implemented in Morocco. The first COVID-19 case was detected in Morocco on 03/02/2020 and a several response measures were implemented. The scientific advisory committee set up therapeutic protocols for managing COVID-19 cases on 03/21/2020 that were used to treat all patients in public and private hospitals. OBJECTIVE To research associated factors with COVID-19 mortality in Morocco before and after the protocols adoption. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study. We used the COVID-19 national epidemiological surveillance database, from March 2 to May 10. We focused only on confirmed cases of COVID-19, defined as any person with RT-PCR positive SARS-CoV-2. Two periods were defined according to the therapeutic protocols implementation in Morocco. The dependent variable was the outcome of COVID-19 patients. A logistic regression, using the Epi-info software (V 7.2), was performed to explain the outcome by the different explanatory variables: gender, age, comorbidities, clinical status at admission. The adjusted Odds Ratio for all variables used in the model were presented with their 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS From March 02 to May 10, Morocco registered 6072 cases of COVID-19; 14.1% (855) were registered before the therapeutic protocol implementation and 85.9% (5217) after. 56.1% (3409) patients were male, 91.4% (5449) were under the age of 65, only 2.7% (95) were admitted at a critical or severe clinical stage and 6.0% (366) had one or more comorbidities. The case fatality rate was 3.14% (191). Male gender (ORa=1.61; 95%CI: 1.01-2.58), age >65 years (ORa=4.69; 95%CI: 2.87-7.67), critical or severe status at admission (ORa=19.55; 95%CI: 11.12-34.38) and the presence of comorbidity (ORa=3.33; 95%CI: 2.00-5.53) were associated with death. The death risk after the protocols implementation was lower (ORa=0.22; 95%CI: 0.14-0.35). CONCLUSIONS To reduce mortality risk, the therapeutic protocols and early COVID-19 detection should be maintained to avoid severe forms, especially in the elderly and subjects with comorbidity. CLINICALTRIAL NA

Download Full-text

SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools in Korea: nationwide cohort study

Archives of Disease in Childhood ◽

10.1136/archdischild-2021-322355 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. archdischild-2021-322355

Author(s):

Young June Choe ◽

Young-Joon Park ◽

Eun-Young Kim ◽

Myoungyoun Jo ◽

Eun Young Cho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Observational Study ◽

Incidence Rate ◽

Retrospective Cohort Study ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Retrospective Cohort ◽

School Closure ◽

Main Route ◽

School Aged Children ◽

Route Of Transmission

ObjectiveThere is an urgent public need to readdress the school closure strategies. We aimed to describe the epidemiology of COVID-19 in schools and school-aged children to understand their roles in transmitting SARS-CoV-2 in Korea.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingAll schools in KoreaPatientsAll school-aged children in Korea.InterventionsNone (observational study).Main outcome measuresIncidence rate, proportion of affected schools.ResultsBetween February and December 2020, the incidence rate was lower among school-aged children (63.2–79.8 per 100 000) compared with adults aged 19 and above (130.4 per 100 000). Household was the main route of transmission (62.3%), followed by community (21.3%) and school clusters (7.9%). Among the schools in Korea, 52% of secondary schools had COVID-19 cases, followed by 39% of primary schools and 3% of kindergartens.ConclusionsWe found that schools and school-aged children aged 7–18 years were not the main drivers of COVID-19 transmission. The major sources of transmission were households.

Download Full-text