THE RED FLAG OF EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION (EUA)

The Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) policy, a representative biodefense policy, was legislated in the United States in 2001 based on lessons learned from Amerithrax, whereas Korea's EUA policy was based on lessons learned from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in 2015. Due to these divergent origins, the U.S. EUA's homeland security objectives were specialized to deal with highly pathogenic biological agents that could be exploited for bioterrorism, whereas the Korean EUA pursues disease containment purposes to strengthen mass-testing practices. During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. EUA revealed limitations in its integration with public health surveillance, laboratory partnerships, and insurance systems, which hampered the rapid expansion of testing capacities. Thereafter, once the limitations of the EUA were circumvented, the testing capacity of the United States began to catch up with that of South Korea, and later skyrocketed after solving these issues. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] La política de autorización de uso de emergencia (EUA), una política representativa de biodefensa, se legisló en los Estados Unidos en 2001 en base a las lecciones aprendidas de Amerithrax, mientras que la política de EUA de Corea se basó en las lecciones aprendidas del brote del síndrome respiratorio de Oriente Medio (MERS) en 2015 Debido a estos orígenes divergentes, los objetivos de seguridad nacional de la EUA EUA se especializaron para tratar con agentes biológicos altamente patógenos que podrían explotarse para el bioterrorismo, mientras que la EUA coreana persigue propósitos de contención de enfermedades para fortalecer las prácticas de pruebas masivas. Durante la fase inicial de la pandemia de COVID-19, la EUA EUA reveló limitaciones en su integración con la vigilancia de la salud pública, las asociaciones de laboratorios y los sistemas de seguros, lo que obstaculizó la rápida expansión de las capacidades de prueba. A partir de entonces, una vez que se eludieron las limitaciones de la EUA, la capacidad de prueba de los Estados Unidos comenzó a alcanzar a la de Corea del Sur y luego se disparó después de resolver estos problemas. (Spanish) [ FROM AUTHOR] 美国在2001年根据炭疽攻击事件(Amerithrax)的经验教训制定了一项具有代表性的生物防卫政策，即紧急使用授权(EUA)政策，而韩国的EUA政策则基于2015年爆发的中东呼吸综合征(MERS)的经验教训。鉴于这些不同的起源，美国EUA的国土安全目标专门应对可能被用于生物恐怖主义的高致病性生物制剂，而韩国EUA则追求疾病遏制目的，以加强大规模检测实践。在2019冠状病毒病(COVID-19)大流行的早期阶段，美国EUA在与公共卫生监测、实验室合作伙伴关系和保险系统的整合方面存在局限性，这阻碍了检测能力的快速扩展。此后，当绕过EUA的限制后，美国的检测能力开始赶上韩国，并在解决这些问题后，检测能力直线上升。 (Chinese) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of World Affairs is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Novel emm4 lineage associated with an upsurge in invasive group A streptococcal disease in the Netherlands, 2022.

Invasive group A streptococcal (iGAS) disease cases increased in the first half of 2022 in the Netherlands, with a remarkably high proportion of emm4 isolates. Whole-genome sequence analysis of 66 emm4 isolates, 40 isolates from the pre-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic period 2009-2019 and 26 contemporary isolates from 2022, identified a novel Streptococcus pyogenes lineage (M4NL22), which accounted for 85 % of emm4 iGAS cases in 2022. Surprisingly, we detected few isolates of the emm4 hypervirulent clone, which has replaced nearly all other emm4 in the USA and the UK. M4NL22 displayed genetic differences compared to other emm4 strains, although these were of unclear biological significance. In publicly available data, we identified a single Norwegian isolate belonging to M4NL22, which was sampled after the isolates from this study, possibly suggesting export of M4NL22 to Norway. In conclusion, our study identified a novel S. pyogenes emm4 lineage underlying an increase of iGAS disease in early 2022 in the Netherlands and the results have been promptly communicated to public health officials.

Misdiagnosis of Clostridioides difficile Infections by Standard-of-Care Specimen Collection and Testing among Hospitalized Adults, Louisville, Kentucky, USA, 2019-20201.

Although Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) incidence is high in the United States, standard-of-care (SOC) stool collection and testing practices might result in incidence overestimation or underestimation. We conducted diarrhea surveillance among inpatients >50 years of age in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, during October 14, 2019-October 13, 2020; concurrent SOC stool collection and CDI testing occurred independently. A study CDI case was nucleic acid amplification test‒/cytotoxicity neutralization assay‒positive or nucleic acid amplification test‒positive stool in a patient with pseudomembranous colitis. Study incidence was adjusted for hospitalization share and specimen collection rate and, in a sensitivity analysis, for diarrhea cases without study testing. SOC hospitalized CDI incidence was 121/100,000 population/year; study incidence was 154/100,000 population/year and, in sensitivity analysis, 202/100,000 population/year. Of 75 SOC CDI cases, 12 (16.0%) were not study diagnosed; of 109 study CDI cases, 44 (40.4%) were not SOC diagnosed. CDI incidence estimates based on SOC CDI testing are probably underestimated.

[Geospatial models for SARS-CoV-2 outbreak control in Cartagena and Barranquilla, Colombia, 2020Modelos geoespaciais para controle de surtos de SARS-CoV-2 em Cartagena e Barranquilla, Colômbia, 2020]. / Modelos geoespaciales para control de brotes de SARS-CoV-2 en Cartagena y Barranquilla, Colombia, 2020.

Objective: Determine the temporal and spatial structure of the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla, Colombia, in order to take necessary actions to support contact tracing. Methods: Cross-sectional ecological study with spatial analysis based on kernel densities of variables, including cases, mobile application alerts, population vulnerability, multidimensional poverty index; inverse distance weighted spatial interpolation of active cases; and, finally, the spatial superposition technique as a final result. The database of the National Institute of Health of the cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla and the Department of National Statistics was used. Results: The analysis identified an upward epidemiological trend in cases in the two cities, and determined the spatial direction of disease spread in neighborhoods, through spatial interpolation. Intervention areas were detected in 15 neighborhoods in Cartagena and 13 in Barranquilla, 50 meters around active cases with fewer than 21 days of evolution and by geographical risk layers, as a mechanism to stop the spread of COVID-19. Conclusions: Spatial analysis proved to be a useful complementary methodology for contact tracing, by determining temporal and spatial structure and providing necessary scientific evidence for the application of direct intervention measures, where necessary, to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Objetivo: Determinar a estrutura temporal e espacial do vírus da síndrome respiratória aguda grave (SARS-CoV-2, na sigla em inglês), causador da doença pelo coronavírus de 2019 (COVID-19, na sigla em inglês), nas cidades de Cartagena e Barranquilla, visando a tomar ações necessárias que apoiem o rastreamento de contatos. Métodos: Estudo ecológico transversal que inclui análise espacial baseada em densidade de Kernel de variáveis como casos, alertas de um aplicativo móvel, vulnerabilidade populacional, índice de pobreza multidimensional, aplicação de interpolação espacial (IDW, na sigla em inglês) de casos ativos e, por último, aplicação da técnica de sobreposição espacial como resultado final. Foram utilizadas as bases de dados do Instituto Nacional de Saúde para as cidades de Cartagena e Barranquilla e do Departamento Nacional de Estatística. Resultados: A análise determinou o comportamento epidemiológico ascendente dos casos nas duas cidades e identificou a direção espacial de propagação da doença nos bairros, por meio de interpolação espacial. Foram detectadas áreas para intervenção em 15 bairros de Cartagena e 13 de Barranquilla, em 50 metros ao redor dos casos ativos com menos de 21 dias de evolução e de acordo com as camadas de risco geográfico, como mecanismo para impedir a propagação da COVID-19. Conclusões: A análise espacial permitiu determinar a estrutura temporal e espacial como uma metodologia complementar útil para o rastreamento de contatos, e forneceu a evidência científica necessária para a aplicação de medidas de intervenção direta, quando necessário, visando a reduzir o contágio pelo SARS-CoV-2.

EPIVIGILA system and notifiable diseases: strength of data in epidemiological surveillance.

The epidemiological surveillance of communicable diseases, an essential function in public health, requires the management of clear, accurate and reliable information to achieve with a faster analysis of its results, early detection and its consequent timely response to events. In Chile, surveillance and control during the COVID-19 pandemic were successful to a large extent because the country had an integrated notification platform, the EPIVIGILA system, which was outstanding in proving its usefulness in this complex epidemiological context, among other efficient tools of new information technologies, due to the strength and diversity of the data it collects and thanks to the innovative essence of its conception. The objective of this study was to describe the architecture of the EPIVIGILA platform for notifiable diseases as a tool for public health surveillance and control in Chile.Copyright © 2023, Editorial Ciencias Medicas. All rights reserved.

Clinical, epidemiological and virological findings of the first covid-19 outbreak in Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia / Hallazgos clínicos, epidemiológicos y virológicos del primer brote de covid-19 en Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia / Achados clínicos, epidemiológicos e virológicos do primeiro surto de covid-19 em Medellín, Antioquia, Colômbia

Resumen Objetivo: Caracterizar clínica, epidemiológica y virológicamente el primer brote de covid-19, a partir del caso primario en Medellín (Colombia), a través de las acciones de vigilancia y control epidemiológico realizadas para su contención. Metodología: Estudio descriptivo retrospectivo. Los casos secundarios se identificaron teniendo en cuenta la definición del protocolo del Instituto Nacional de Salud. La recolección de datos fue obtenida del Sistema de Vigilancia en Salud Pública, la investigación epidemiológica de campo, historia clínica y resultados de laboratorio. Se tuvieron en cuenta patrones clínicos de la enfermedad (signos y síntomas), componentes epidemiológicos (acciones de vigilancia y control de la transmisión) y virológicos (con el uso de la prueba diagnóstica para sars-CoV-2 y la evaluación de la recuperación virológica). La confirmación de los casos se hizo por técnica de detección diagnóstica de coronavirus Wuhan 2019 por Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction - Real Time, protocolo Charité, Berlín, Alemania 2020, procesadas en e informadas por el Laboratorio Nacional de Referencia del Instituto Nacional de Salud. Resultados: El caso primario de Medellín ingresó al país el 2 de marzo de 2020, procedente de Madrid (España) y fue confirmado el 9 de marzo. Se identificaron 52 contactos estrechos en 9 conglomerados. Las acciones de vigilancia en salud pública permitieron identificar 5 casos relacionados en una fase temprana de la enfermedad. Conclusiones: La caracterización del caso primario en Medellín permitió identificar el primer brote de covid-19 y orientar las medidas de control epidemiológico, como aislamientos, tomas de muestras, seguimiento a contactos y búsquedas de casos secundarios.

Abstract Objective: To characterize clinically, epidemiologically and virologically the first outbreak of covid-19, from the primary case in Medellín (Colombia), through surveillance and epidemiological control carried out for its containment. Methodology: Retrospective descriptive study. Secondary cases are identified taking into account the definition of the protocol of the National Institute of Health. Data collection was obtained of the Public Health Surveillance System, research epidemiological field, medical history and results of laboratory. Clinical patterns of the disease (signs and symptoms), epidemiological components (transmission surveillance and control actions) and virological (with the use of the diagnostic test for sars-CoV-2 and the evaluation of virological recovery). The confirmation of the cases was done by the diagnostic detection technique of Wuhan coronavirus 2019 by reverse transcription polymerase Chain Reaction - Real Time, Charité protocol, Berlin, Germany 2020, processed in and reported by the National Laboratory of Reference of the National Institute of Health. Results: The Medellín's primary case entered the country on March 2, 2020, from Madrid (Spain) and was confirmed on March 9. 52 close contacts were identified in 9 clusters. The surveillance actions in public health made it possible to identify 5 related cases in an early phase of the disease. Conclusions: The characterization of the primary case in Medellín seek to identify the first outbreak of covid-19 and guide the epidemiological control measures, such as isolations, intakes of samples, follow-up contacts and case searches secondary.

Resumo Objetivo: Caracterizar clínica, epidemiológica e virologicamente o primeiro surto de covid-19, desde o caso primário em Medellín (Colômbia), por meio das ações de vigilância e controle epidemiológico realizadas para sua contenção. Metodologia: Estudo descritivo retrospectivo. Os casos secundários foram identificados tendo em consideração a definição do protocolo do National Institute of Health. A coleta de dados foi obtida junto ao Sistema Único de Vigilância em Saúde, pesquisa epidemiológica de campo, história clínica e resultados laboratoriais. Foram considerados os padrões clínicos da doença (sinais e sintomas), componentes epidemiológicos (ações de vigilância e controle da transmissão) e virológicos (com uso do teste diagnóstico para sars-CoV-2 e avaliação da recuperação virológica). A confirmação dos casos foi feita pela técnica de detecção diagnóstica de coronavírus Wuhan 2019 por Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase de Transcrição Reversa - Tempo Real, protocolo Charité, Berlim, Alemanha 2020, processada e relatada pelo Laboratório de Referência Nacional do Instituto Nacional de Saúde. Resultados: O caso primário de Medellín entrou no país em 2 de março de 2020, a partir de Madrid (Espanha) e foi confirmado em 9 de março. 52 contatos próximos foram identificados em 9 clusters. As ações de vigilância em saúde pública possibilitaram a identificação de 5 casos relacionados em fase inicial da doença. Conclusões: A caracterização do caso primário em Medellín permitiu identificar o primeiro surto de covid-19 e orientar medidas de controle epidemiológico, como isolamento, amostragem, acompanhamento de contatos e busca de casos secundários.

The Early Detection of Fraudulent COVID-19 Products From Twitter Chatter: Data Set and Baseline Approach Using Anomaly Detection.

Background: Social media has served as a lucrative platform for spreading misinformation and for promoting fraudulent products for the treatment, testing, and prevention of COVID-19. This has resulted in the issuance of many warning letters by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While social media continues to serve as the primary platform for the promotion of such fraudulent products, it also presents the opportunity to identify these products early by using effective social media mining methods. Objective: Our objectives were to (1) create a data set of fraudulent COVID-19 products that can be used for future research and (2) propose a method using data from Twitter for automatically detecting heavily promoted COVID-19 products early. Methods: We created a data set from FDA-issued warnings during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used natural language processing and time-series anomaly detection methods for automatically detecting fraudulent COVID-19 products early from Twitter. Our approach is based on the intuition that increases in the popularity of fraudulent products lead to corresponding anomalous increases in the volume of chatter regarding them. We compared the anomaly signal generation date for each product with the corresponding FDA letter issuance date. We also performed a brief manual analysis of chatter associated with 2 products to characterize their contents. Results: FDA warning issue dates ranged from March 6, 2020, to June 22, 2021, and 44 key phrases representing fraudulent products were included. From 577,872,350 posts made between February 19 and December 31, 2020, which are all publicly available, our unsupervised approach detected 34 out of 44 (77.3%) signals about fraudulent products earlier than the FDA letter issuance dates, and an additional 6 (13.6%) within a week following the corresponding FDA letters. Content analysis revealed misinformation, information, political, and conspiracy theories to be prominent topics. Conclusions: Our proposed method is simple, effective, easy to deploy, and does not require high-performance computing machinery unlike deep neural network-based methods. The method can be easily extended to other types of signal detection from social media data. The data set may be used for future research and the development of more advanced methods.

Active community search strategies for COVID-19 control.

Introduction: The active community search is widely used in field practice and allows to identify symptomatic people, criteria of risk of contagion, control of the virus, knowledge of the population at risk and, in addition, allows the analysis of the relationship of these factors with the increased risk of affecting health. However, it is difficult to find a consensus on this aspect. Objective(s): To identify active community search strategies that have an effect on the control of COVID-19. Method(s): A systematic search was conducted in the PubMed, Science Direct and LILACS databases, also in Google Scholar, Open Grey and PROSPERO, from December 2019 to January 2021. The selection criteria were previously defined with respect to the intervention and the research topic of the articles consulted. The protocol was sent for registration in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). Registration number: CRD42020160617. Conclusion(s): Of the two identified strategies, the home visit of the medical team made up by students, professors and other health professionals stands out. It is necessary to take this result with caution because they are studies from the same country, although the importance of community participation in public health surveillance is reiterated.Copyright © 2022, Editorial Ciencias Medicas. All rights reserved.

Mass surveillance to fight COVID-19: acceptance of surveillance technologies depends on goal-directed motivation

Many governments use mass surveillance to fight COVID-19. Surveillance technologies can help in controlling the spread of the virus, but they may also raise privacy concerns among citizens. This research aims to explore the behavioural mechanisms underlying the acceptance of mass surveillance during COVID-19 and public health emergencies in the future. According to regulatory focus theory, goal-directed behaviour is regulated by two motivational systems – promotion and prevention. Promotion-focused individuals are motivated by growth and prefer to use eager strategies to achieve their goals. Prevention-focused individuals are motivated by safety and prefer to use vigilant strategies. Based on the theory, it is proposed that there is a relationship between regulatory focus and acceptance of mass surveillance. Study 1 tested this proposal with a questionnaire that measured chronic regulatory focus. Study 2 tested this proposal with an experimental priming technique. For both, chronic and experimentally manipulated regulatory focus, these studies showed that surveillance acceptance was associated with regulatory focus. In Study 1, surveillance acceptance was positively associated with prevention focus. Privacy concerns mediated this relationship. The higher the prevention focus, the lower were the concerns about privacy, and thus, the higher was the willingness to accept mass surveillance. Moreover, promotion focus moderated the relationship between privacy concerns and surveillance acceptance. The higher the concerns about privacy, the lower was the willingness to accept mass surveillance, and the higher the promotion focus, the stronger was the effect. Study 2 found that a situationally induced regulatory focus moderated the relationship between privacy concerns and surveillance acceptance. The higher the concerns over privacy, the lower was the willingness to accept mass surveillance, and the effect was stronger for an induced promotion (vs. prevention) focus. Models of surveillance acceptance are presented. Implications for public health and health communication are discussed.

Profile and characteristics of violence against older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: to identify the sociodemographic profile and the characteristics of interpersonal violence against older adults during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in a capital city from the Brazilian Southeast region. Method: a descriptive and exploratory research study with a cross-sectional design based on the notifications of suspected or confirmed cases of violence against older adults between March 2020 and March 2021. A univariate statistical analysis and Fisher's exact test (p<0.05) were performed. Results: a total of 2,681 notifications were recorded during the period. The main victims were individuals aged between 60 and 64 years old, female, white-skinned and with low schooling levels. The instances of violence were more frequent in the victims' homes. Physical and psychological violence predominated, through physical force/beatings and threats, respectively. Most of the aggressors were male, younger than the victims and generally their children or intimate partners. The aggressions were perpetrated more than once and were driven by generational conflicts. There was low referral to entities for the protection of older adults. Conclusion: the sociodemographic profile found evidences vulnerable victims, subjected to many types of violence, and at a potential risk against their overall health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Sickness absenteeism among primary and middle school students in Nanjing during 2019-2021

Objective To understand the sickness absenteeism among primary and middle school students in Nanjing during 2019-2021 so as to provide evidence for infectious diseases prevention and control in school settings.Methods Data on sickness absenteeism among primary and middle school students in Nanjing during 2019-2021 were collected through the Health Surveillance System of Students in Jiangsu. Descriptive analysis was conducted to compare the sickness absenteeism symptoms and pathogeny as well as time distribution among different terms and academic years.Results The overall sickness absenteeism during 2019-2021 were 0.25% 0.39% and 0.73% χ2 = 392 611.44 P<0.01. The rate of sickness absenteeism in primary school was higher than that of middle schools across 2019 to 2021 χ2 = 47 783.45 20 935.07 13 459.63 P<0.01. The most common symptoms of sickness absenteeism were fever and cough. The leading cause of sickness absenteeism was influenza followed by gastrointestinal diseases. In addition unintentional injuries were currently the fourth leading cause. The peaks of absenteeism occurred during November to December and March to April in the 2019 and 2021. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic the second peak in the 2020 academic year occurred in June.Conclusion The sickness absenteeism among primary and middle school students in Nanjing showed an increasing trend and more attention should be paid to primary school students. Prevention efforts should focus on respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases in schools especially in winter and spring. It is of great significance to strengthen sickness absenteeism surveillance for future epidemic prevention and control in schools under normal conditions. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.

Spatiotemporal health surveillance accounting for risk factors and spatial correlation

Most of the current public health surveillance methods used in epidemiological studies to identify hotspots of diseases assume that the regional disease case counts are independently distributed and they lack the ability of adjusting for confounding covariates. This article proposes a new approach that uses a simultaneous autoregressive (SAR) model, a popular spatial regression approach, within the classical space‐time cumulative sum (CUSUM) framework for detecting changes in the spatial distribution of count data while accounting for risk factors and spatial correlation. We develop expressions for the likelihood ratio test monitoring statistics based on a SAR model with covariates, leading to the proposed space‐time CUSUM test statistic. The effectiveness of the proposed monitoring approach in detecting and identifying step shifts is studied by simulation of various shift scenarios in regional counts. A case study for monitoring regional COVID‐19 infection counts while adjusting for social vulnerability, often correlated with a community's susceptibility towards disease infection, is presented to illustrate the application of the proposed methodology in public health surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Quality & Reliability Engineering International is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Special Section on COVID-19. (Special Section on COVID-19.)

This special section on COVID-19 includes 7 articles covering various topics related to the pandemic. The first article discusses COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among young adults in Canada. The second article examines the pathways of association between disordered eating in adolescence and mental health outcomes in young adulthood during the COVID-19 pandemic. The third article explores the increased alcohol use, heavy episodic drinking, and suicide ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. The fourth article focuses on British Columbia's COVID-19 surveys on population experiences, action, and knowledge, presenting methods and key findings from two large cross-sectional online surveys. The fifth article is a systematic review of the health impact of COVID-19 among Black communities in Canada. The sixth article is about the early identification of a COVID-19 outbreak detected by wastewater surveillance at a large homeless shelter in Toronto, Ontario. Finally, the seventh article discusses COVID-19 vaccine inequity and Big Pharma, arguing for a rethink of our relationship with pharmaceutical companies.

Management of COVID-19 Outbreak in Argentina: Stage 2.

OBJECTIVE: With the intention to try to contain the spread of the viral disease, several measures were taken in Argentina for long periods of time. METHODS: The lack of labor activity, social constraints, and a strong sense of helplessness, combined with a complex economic scenario with recession, inflation, and devaluation, led to the emergence of a dense climate of discontent. RESULTS: After a second wave hit the country, several measures were reinstalled. The Argentine society, polarized in many aspects, was further divided between those who supported the re-establishment of strict measures to help prevent further infections and those who desperately claimed for the urgent need to return to work to sustain their livings. CONCLUSIONS: The preexisting problems to which developing countries are usually exposed have been sharpened over the last year, determining a very complex scenario where every decision is important for the country's future. An updated report of the current situation and its management in different countries is of vital importance regarding global health issues and may serve for feedback and decision-making.

Sociodemographic characteristics of professional categories most affected by COVID-19 in Mozambique from March to July 2020.

Introduction: the risk of a worker becoming ill due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is related to occupational exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Due to the need to restore work activities in Mozambique, the study was conducted with the aim of identifying the occupational categories most affected by COVID-19 in the former in the period from March to July 2020. Methods: this is a cross-sectional descriptive study, in which data from professions of confirmed cases of COVID-19 from 22 March to 29 July 2020 in Mozambique were analyzed. The professionals' data were reported daily by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and merged into a single database and exported to Excel, the latter categorized according to standard operating procedure (SOP) and descriptive statistics performed for its analysis. Results: in the period under analysis, 1,127 professionals were diagnosed with COVID-19, divided into 11 categories. Nampula province had the highest frequency of cases with 25.00% (277). The highest frequency of cases was registered in the domestic professional category, which had 16.77% (189/1,127) with the female sex being more frequent, 79.37% (150/189); and defense and security had 14.20% (160/1,127) of cases and male gender with 91.25% (146/160); Health workers had 13.04% (147/1,127), and the maximum number of COVID-19 cases was recorded in June with 58.50% (86/147). Conclusion: the professional categories most affected by COVID-19 in the period under review correspond to those groups that carry out activities requiring a physical presence at the workplace and from this; it is recommended that professionals reinforce preventive measures.

COVID-19 Contact Tracing as an Indicator for Evaluating a Pandemic Situation: Simulation Study.

BACKGROUND: Contact tracing is a fundamental intervention in public health. When systematically applied, it enables the breaking of chains of transmission, which is important for controlling COVID-19 transmission. In theoretically perfect contact tracing, all new cases should occur among quarantined individuals, and an epidemic should vanish. However, the availability of resources influences the capacity to perform contact tracing. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate its effectiveness threshold. We propose that this effectiveness threshold may be indirectly estimated using the ratio of COVID-19 cases arising from quarantined high-risk contacts, where higher ratios indicate better control and, under a threshold, contact tracing may fail and other restrictions become necessary. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the ratio of COVID-19 cases in high-risk contacts quarantined through contact tracing and its potential use as an ancillary pandemic control indicator. METHODS: We built a 6-compartment epidemiological model to emulate COVID-19 infection flow according to publicly available data from Portuguese authorities. Our model extended the usual susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered model by adding a compartment Q with individuals in mandated quarantine who could develop infection or return to the susceptible pool and a compartment P with individuals protected from infection because of vaccination. To model infection dynamics, data on SARS-CoV-2 infection risk (IR), time until infection, and vaccine efficacy were collected. Estimation was needed for vaccine data to reflect the timing of inoculation and booster efficacy. In total, 2 simulations were built: one adjusting for the presence and absence of variants or vaccination and another maximizing IR in quarantined individuals. Both simulations were based on a set of 100 unique parameterizations. The daily ratio of infected cases arising from high-risk contacts (q estimate) was calculated. A theoretical effectiveness threshold of contact tracing was defined for 14-day average q estimates based on the classification of COVID-19 daily cases according to the pandemic phases and was compared with the timing of population lockdowns in Portugal. A sensitivity analysis was performed to understand the relationship between different parameter values and the threshold obtained. RESULTS: An inverse relationship was found between the q estimate and daily cases in both simulations (correlations >0.70). The theoretical effectiveness thresholds for both simulations attained an alert phase positive predictive value of >70% and could have anticipated the need for additional measures in at least 4 days for the second and fourth lockdowns. Sensitivity analysis showed that only the IR and booster dose efficacy at inoculation significantly affected the q estimates. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated the impact of applying an effectiveness threshold for contact tracing on decision-making. Although only theoretical thresholds could be provided, their relationship with the number of confirmed cases and the prediction of pandemic phases shows the role as an indirect indicator of the efficacy of contact tracing.

A City Surveillance System for Social Health Inequalities: The Case of Barcelona.

INTRODUCTION: In the past, health inequalities were not prioritised in the political agenda of Barcelona. The change of city government (2015) was an opportunity to develop a Surveillance System for Social Health Inequalities in the city, which is described in this article. METHODS: The design of the Surveillance System formed part of the Joint Action for Health Equity in Europe (JAHEE), funded by the European Union. Various steps were considered by the experts to set up the System: define its objectives, target population, domains and indicators, and sources of information; perform data analysis; implement and disseminate the system; define the evaluation; and perform regular data updates. RESULTS: The System considers the following domains: social determinants of health, health-related with behaviours, use of healthcare, and health outcomes, and includes eight indicators. As axes of inequality, the experts chose sex, age, social class, country of origin, and geographical area. The Surveillance System for Social Health Inequalities is presented on a website including different types of figures. CONCLUSION: The methodology used to implement the Surveillance System can be used to implement similar systems in other urban areas around the world.

Erratum: Detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection clusters: The useful combination of spatiotemporal clustering and genomic analyses.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1016169.].

Views on increased federal access to state and local National Syndromic Surveillance Program data: a nominal group technique study with state and local epidemiologists.

BACKGROUND: US public health authorities use syndromic surveillance to monitor and detect public health threats, conditions, and trends in near real-time. Nearly all US jurisdictions that conduct syndromic surveillance send their data to the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP), operated by the US. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, current data sharing agreements limit federal access to state and local NSSP data to only multi-state regional aggregations. This limitation was a significant challenge for the national response to COVID-19. This study seeks to understand state and local epidemiologists' views on increased federal access to state NSSP data and identify policy opportunities for public health data modernization. METHODS: In September 2021, we used a virtual, modified nominal group technique with twenty regionally diverse epidemiologists in leadership positions and three individuals representing national public health organizations. Participants individually generated ideas on benefits, concerns, and policy opportunities relating to increased federal access to state and local NSSP data. In small groups, participants clarified and grouped the ideas into broader themes with the assistance of the research team. An web-based survey was used to evaluate and rank the themes using five-point Likert importance questions, top-3 ranking questions, and open-ended response questions. RESULTS: Participants identified five benefit themes for increased federal access to jurisdictional NSSP data, with the most important being improved cross-jurisdiction collaboration (mean Likert = 4.53) and surveillance practice (4.07). Participants identified nine concern themes, with the most important concerns being federal actors using jurisdictional data without notice (4.60) and misinterpretation of data (4.53). Participants identified eleven policy opportunities, with the most important being involving state and local partners in analysis (4.93) and developing communication protocols (4.53). CONCLUSION: These findings identify barriers and opportunities to federal-state-local collaboration critical to current data modernization efforts. Syndromic surveillance considerations warrant data-sharing caution. However, identified policy opportunities share congruence with existing legal agreements, suggesting that syndromic partners are closer to agreement than they might realize. Moreover, several policy opportunities (i.e., including state and local partners in data analysis and developing communication protocols) received consensus support and provide a promising path forward.

Innovations in Public Health Surveillance for Emerging Infections.

Public health surveillance is defined as the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data and is closely integrated with the timely dissemination of information that the public needs to know and upon which the public should act. Public health surveillance is central to modern public health practice by contributing data and information usually through a national notifiable disease reporting system (NNDRS). Although early identification and prediction of future disease trends may be technically feasible, more work is needed to improve accuracy so that policy makers can use these predictions to guide prevention and control efforts. In this article, we review the advantages and limitations of the current NNDRS in most countries, discuss some lessons learned about prevention and control from the first wave of COVID-19, and describe some technological innovations in public health surveillance, including geographic information systems (GIS), spatial modeling, artificial intelligence, information technology, data science, and the digital twin method. We conclude that the technology-driven innovative public health surveillance systems are expected to further improve the timeliness, completeness, and accuracy of case reporting during outbreaks and also enhance feedback and transparency, whereby all stakeholders should receive actionable information on control and be able to limit disease risk earlier than ever before.