Utility of early diagnosis, contact tracing and stakeholder engagement in outbreak response in three COVID-19 outbreak settings in Ghana.
Ghana Med J
; 55(2 Suppl): 29-37, 2021 Jun.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1502650
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To describe how early case detection, testing and contact tracing measures were deployed by stakeholders in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Ghana - using three outbreak scenarios.DESIGN:
A descriptive assessment of three case studies of COVID-19 outbreaks within three settings that occurred in Ghana from March 13 till the end of June 2020.SETTING:
A construction camp, a factory and a training institution in Ghana.PARTICIPANTS:
Staff of a construction camp, a factory, workers and students of a training institution.INTERVENTIONS:
We described and compared the three COVID-19 outbreak scenarios in Ghana, highlighting identification and diagnosis of cases, testing, contact tracing and stakeholder engagement for each scenario. We also outlined the challenges and lessons learnt in the management of these scenarios. MAIN OUTCOMEMEASURES:
Approach used for diagnosis, testing, contact tracing and stakeholder engagement.RESULTS:
Index cases of the training institution and construction camp were screened the same day of reporting symptoms, whiles the factory index case required a second visit before the screening. All index cases were tested with RT-PCR. The training institution followed and tested all contacts, and an enhanced contact tracing approach was conducted for staff of the other two sites. Multi-sectorial engagement and collaboration with stakeholders enabled effective handling of the outbreak response in all sites.CONCLUSION:
Comparing all three settings, early diagnosis and prompt actions taken through multi-sectorial collaborations played a major role in controlling the outbreak. Engaging stakeholders in the COVID-19 response is an effective way to mitigate the challenges in responding to the pandemic.FUNDING:
The COVID-19 outbreak response and writing workshop by the Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (GFELTP) was supported with funding from President Malaria Initiative - CDC, and Korea International Cooperation Agency (on CDC CoAg 6NU2GGH001876) through AFENET.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Contact Tracing
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
Ghana Med J
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Gmj.v55i2s.5
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