Impact of School Closures on the Proportion of Children in the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Example from the Winter Lockdown in Germany

Background In addition to widely used basic hygiene measures in school, school closures are applied to contain SARS-CoV-2 spread, although the effect on the pandemic is unclear. We proposed a simple approach to disentangle the effect of school closures from other lockdown measures on the pandemic course based on publicly available data in Germany. Methods We used data on the number of SARS-CoV-2 cases from the onset of the pandemic to 14th April 2021. We compared the proportion of children (5–14 years old) in all cases prior to the lockdown measures, including school closure, to that during a ten-week lockdown in Germany. The total number of paediatric cases occurring during lockdown was compared to the number expected in absence of school closures. The latter was calculated based on the actual weekly number of all cases and the pre-lockdown proportion of paediatric cases. Results The proportion of children in all cases was 2.3 percentage points lower at the nadir than the proportion before the lockdown. The estimated total number of paediatric cases prevented by school closures was estimated at 13,246 amounting to 24% of the expected cases in absence of school closures. Conclusion School closure during the winter lockdown reduced the number of expected SARS-CoV-2 cases in children in absence of school closures. The contribution of these prevented cases to the total population incidence is small. These data might provide the basis to model the effect of school closures in addition to basic hygiene measures on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

POTENTIAL OF MAIZE, MILLET AND RATTLEBOX TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢 (CRAMER) (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE)

This study evaluated the effect of different crops grown during soybean offseason on the development and reproduction of Spodoptera eridania (Cramer). The experiment was conducted in laboratory at 25°C±1°C, relative air humidity of 70%±10% and a 12h photophase. The plants evaluated were cotton (FMT 701), sunflower (Embrapa 122-V2000), rattlebox (Crotalaria spectabilis Roth), corn (Dekalb 370) and millet (DR-300). The less suitable hosts for the survival of S. eridania were rattlebox, corn and millet. Only cotton and sunflower the specie completed its development (egg to adult). Corn, millet and rattlebox were the crops that most affected the performance of S. eridania, and therefore they could potentially be used in the soybean offseason period to interrupt the life cycle of this species, and thus reduce population incidence during soybean season.

Epidemiology and Mortality of Early-Onset Neonatal Sepsis in Suriname: A 2-Year Surveillance Study

We conducted a nationwide surveillance study to produce reliable national estimates on incidence, etiology, and mortality of early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) in Suriname. The estimated national population incidence rate of EONS was 1.37 (95% CI: 0.90–1.99) per 1000 live births and in-hospital mortality was 25.9%.