Impact of isolation for the suspicion of COVID-19 on bacterial pneumonia patients

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the inpatient practice of bacterial pneumonia. On hospitalization, isolation is required while waiting for the result of the PCR test, which may lead to limited access to medical resources and fewer rounds by medical staff. However, little is known about the relationship of isolation with the clinical outcomes of bacterial pneumonia. Here we hypothesized that isolation for COVID-19 suspected patients, who were eventually diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia, is associated with longer hospital stays, compared to no isolation. Method(s): This is a single center retrospective observational study of hospitalized adult patients diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia, from January 2018 to September 2021. The patients were divided into the non-isolated group (patients hospitalized between January 2018 to December 2019, who were not isolated at all), and the isolated group (patients hospitalized between January 2020 to September 2021, who were isolated because COVID-19 was suspected). The primary outcome was longer hospital stays (hospital stays >=14 days) and its relation to isolation was analyzed, using logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, the CURB-65, and the Charlsons Comorbidity Index. Result(s): Among 917 eligible patients, 214 (23%) underwent isolation. In logistic regression analysis, the isolated group resulted in independently longer hospital stays, compared to the non-isolated group (OR 1.49;95%CI 1.082.07, p=0.015). There was no significant difference in antibiotic duration between two groups. Conclusion(s): The isolation of bacterial pneumonia patients suspected of COVID-19 was associated with longer hospital stays.

Comparison of Six Immunoassays for Assaying Levels of Immunoglobulin G against the Nucleocapsid and Spike Proteins of SARS-CoV-2

Introduction: Assay kits for detection of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) against the nucleocapsid protein (anti-nucleocapsid IgG) and spike proteins (anti-spike IgG) of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were commercially provided by several manufacturers. These assay kits should be verified by measuring the same sample. Aim: To compare the diagnostic value of three Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) kits in evaluating six immunoassays developed by three manufacturers (Abbott, Euglena, and Roche) to detect anti-nucleocapsid IgG and anti-spike IgG. Materials and Methods: Present study was an observational cross-sectional study conducted from June 2020 to December 2020. Antibody titers for anti-nucleocapsid IgG and anti-spike IgG among 429 Healthcare Workers (HCWs) in a Tone Central Hospital, Japan where a nosocomial infection of the COVID-19 occurred were measured by six immunoassays with kits developed by three different manufacturers. The sensitivity and specificity of each kit was compared to real-time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). Results: Six of the HCWs tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 via RT-qPCR, and the rest tested negative. The severity of COVID-19 among these six HCWs ranged from mild to moderate. The sensitivity and specificity values against RT-qPCR were, 100% and 99.5% for Abbott, 83.3% and 100% for Euglena, and 100% and 100% for Roche when using the nucleocapsid protein assay and 100% and 99.8% for Abbott, 100% and 100% for Euglena, and 100% and 100% for Roche when using the spike protein assay kit. Conclusion: The commercial kits provided by three manufacturers reflected the immune status of individuals. There were no major differences in the performance of these test kits. Discordant results with the antibody titer for anti-nucleocapsid IgG and anti-spike IgG were detected by using assay kits provided by Abbott and Euglena. To evaluate the past history of COVID-19, it should be noted that the single measurement of anit-nucleocapsid IgG or anti-spike IgG could not exclude false negative or positives

Living with COVID-19: mass gatherings and minimizing risk.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been important to both minimize the risk of infection and restore daily life. As a typical example, mass gathering events, such as sporting events, are gradually becoming more common, thanks to the measures taken to contain COVID-19. Some pilot studies have been launched at governments' initiative to investigate the risk of infection without measures such as face masks and physical distancing at mass gathering events, but the ethics of these studies should be carefully considered. On the other hand, it is still beneficial to implement infection control measures at mass gathering events and, in parallel, to estimate the risk of infection with measures in place, especially under a lack of vaccination progress or the spread of mutant strains possibly resistant to vaccines. To help improve compliance with measures taken by spectators and organizers and to ensure their effectiveness, we have conducted quantitative evaluations of the implementation of such measures by monitoring CO2 concentrations, assessing the proportion of people wearing face masks and analysing human flow at the event. This approach allows us to share our observations with stakeholders and participants, enabling us to protect the culture of mass gathering events, minimize the risk of infection and restore a sense of well-being in daily life.

Public health benefits and ethical aspects in the collection and open sharing of wastewater-based epidemic data on covid-19

Collection and open sharing of wastewater-based epidemic data potentially provide immense public health benefits during outbreak of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. By early detection and localization of unidentified infections, wastewater surveillance is expected to enable early and targeted containment of the local outbreak. Wastewater surveillance renders potentially high public health benefits when a small catchment is targeted;however, it possibly leads to stigmatization and discrimination against the targeted group. Therefore, public commitment is crucial for the collection and open sharing of wastewater-based epidemic data. With respect to the sharing of wastewater-based epidemic data, technical limitations and uncertainty of collected data also should be simultaneously shared on the basis of scientific communication. Useful application of wastewater-based epidemic data is to complement clinical epidemic data, which is possibly biased and overlooks unidentified infections. To acquire public commitment toward the collection and open sharing of wastewater-based epidemic data, stakeholders need to reach a consensus on possible options of restrictive measures taken with respect to the collected data as well as appropriate handling of the collected data to prevent stigmatization and discrimination. © 2021 The Author(s).

Accurate fever screening system with visible camera and thermography

Since the outbreak of SARS (2003) / new influenza (2009) / MARS (2013) and so on, thermography-based Fever Screening has been adopted in quarantine of airports and ports as a measure to prevent from the spread of infection. However, the fever judgement has been achieved with the experienced quarantine officer. Due to recent spread of COVID 19, installation of thermography is expanding not only to quarantine at airports and ports, but also to hospitals, schools, retail stores, various facilities, and sports/event venues. Automated fever screening system with high accuracy are needed. Generally, a thermometer that measures axillary or sublingual temperature is used for body temperature measurement accurately, but this method takes time and contacts the subject to measure. So it is not suitable for the screening. On the other hand, thermography, which can measure the temperature of several persons in real time in a non-contact manner, satisfies screening requirements, but the body surface temperature of the exposed part such as the face that can be measured, is strongly affected by the environmental temperature and fluctuates. Therefore, it has a problem that it is difficult to determine the presence or absence of fever by setting a constant threshold value only. In order to realize the automation of screening with high accuracy and efficiency and make it easy for general users to understand, we will increase the measurement accuracy of the body surface temperature of thermography, identify the face and each landmark position from the image, and measure the temperature (body surface) of that part. The effects of the environment and individual difference are corrected from the temperature of multiple specific parts, and the high-precise body temperature estimation is carried out, and the algorithm is further improved. © 2021 SPIE

Dealing with Community Mental Health post the Fukushima disaster: lessons learnt for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigation of psychological distress is required. At present, the demand for remote intervention for the numerous affected people is increasing, and telephonic support can be useful. Since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, we have been developing a large-scale telephonic support system and implementing brief interventions for the Fukushima people identified at risk of psychological problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. In this article, we report the lessons from the Fukushima disaster that can be applied to the COVID-19 pandemic and describe how the telephonic intervention facilitates easier access to psychological help for people with a broad range of psychological distress who are not able to visit treatment or care resources. In our telephonic intervention, we first sent a mental health and lifestyle survey to the people affected by the Fukushima disaster. The counselor team then provided telephonic intervention to high-risk persons as identified on the basis of the survey results. The individuals had expected to receive from the telephonic system help mainly in the form of stress-coping methods, social resource information such as schools, public offices or medical facilities, and lifestyle advice. Since we also experienced that psychological care for telephone counselors was necessary to mitigate the substantial emotional burden, we used the following three approaches: (i) regular supervision of the telephone counseling methods, (ii) seminars for improvement of counseling skills and (iii) individual psychological support. The positive loops between counselors and consulters will help advance a society affected by a disaster.