Incidence of Acute Respiratory Infections during Disasters in the Absence and Presence of COVID-19 Pandemic.
Prehosp Disaster Med
; 37(1): 142-144, 2022 Feb.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1616894
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Japan recently experienced two major heavy rain disasters the West Japan heavy rain disaster in July 2018 and the Kumamoto heavy rain disaster in July 2020. Between the occurrences of these two disasters, Japan began experiencing the wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, providing a unique opportunity to compare the incidence of acute respiratory infection (ARI) between the two disaster responses under distinct conditions. SOURCES FOR INFORMATION The data were collected by using the standard disaster medical reporting system used in Japan, so-called the Japan-Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters (J-SPEED), which reports number and types of patients treated by Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs). Data for ARI were extracted from daily aggregated data on the J-SPEED form and the frequency of ARI in two disasters was compared. OBSERVATION Acute respiratory infection in the West Japan heavy rain that occurred in the absence of COVID-19 and in the Kumamoto heavy rain that occurred in the presence of COVID-19 were responsible for 5.4% and 1.2% of the total consultation, respectively (P <.001). ANALYSIS OF OBSERVATION ANDCONCLUSION:
Between the occurrence of these two disasters, Japan implemented COVID-19 preventive measures on a personal and organizational level, such as wearing masks, disinfecting hands, maintaining social distance, improving room ventilation, and screening people who entered evacuation centers by using hygiene management checklists. By following the basic prevention measures stated above, ARI can be significantly reduced during a disaster.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Respiratory Tract Infections
/
Disasters
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Prehosp Disaster Med
Journal subject:
Emergency Medicine
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S1049023X22000085
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