Residential clustering of COVID-19 cases and efficiency of building-wide compulsory testing notices as a transmission control measure in Hong Kong

BackgroundDespite relatively few reports of residential case clusters of COVID-19, building-wide compulsory testing notices on residential apartment blocks are frequently applied in Hong Kong with the aim of identifying cases and reducing transmission. MethodsWe aimed to describe the frequency of residential case clusters and the efficiency of compulsory testing notices in identifying cases. The residences of locally infected COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong were grouped to quantify the number of cases per residence. Buildings targeted in compulsory testing notices were matched with the residence of cases to estimate the number of cases identified. ResultsWe found that most of the residential buildings (4246/7688, 55.2%) with a confirmed COVID-19 case had only one reported case. In the fourth and the fifth epidemic wave in Hong Kong, we estimated that compulsory testing notices detected 29 cases (95% confidence interval: 26, 32) and 46 cases (44, 48) from every 100 buildings tested (each with hundreds of residents), respectively. Approximately 13% of the daily reported cases were identified through compulsory testing notices. ConclusionsCompulsory testing notices can be an essential method when attempting to maintain local elimination ( zero covid) and most impactful early in an epidemic when the benefit remains of stemming a new wave. Compulsory testing therefore appears to be a relatively inefficient control measure in response to sustained community transmission in the community.

Insights into COVID-19 epidemiology and control from temporal changes in serial interval distributions in Hong Kong

The serial interval distribution is used to approximate the generation time distribution, an essential parameter to predict the effective reproductive number "Rt", a measure of transmissibility. However, serial interval distributions may change as an epidemic progresses rather than remaining constant. Here we show that serial intervals in Hong Kong varied over time, closely associated with the temporal variation in COVID-19 case profiles and public health and social measures that were implemented in response to surges in community transmission. Quantification of the variation over time in serial intervals led to improved estimation of Rt, and provided additional insights into the impact of public health measures on transmission of infections. One-Sentence SummaryReal-time estimates of serial interval distributions can improve assessment of COVID-19 transmission dynamics and control.

Study on the Correlation Between theⅣPlase of Diabetic Nephropathy and Bailing Capsules Combied with Salvianolate / 中国药师

Objective:To explore the effects of Bailing capsules combined with salvianolate on inflammatory cytokines, renal vas-cular endothelia and renal function in diabetic nephropathy inⅣphase. Methods:Totally 60 patients with diabetic nephropathy in IV phase were randomly divided into the control group (30 cases) and the treatment group (30 cases). The control group was given the conventional and salvianolate therapy, and the treatment group was treated with Bailing capsules additionally. The treatment course was 3 months. The changes of serum creatine(SCr), urean itrogen (BUN), creatinine clearance rate (Ccr), ethelin (ET-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were detected before and after the treatment. Results:After the 3-month treatment, SCr, BUN, IL-6, TNF-a, CRP and ET-1 were significantly decreased in the two groups with statistical signifi-cance, and Ccr was significantly increased in the treatment group (P0. 05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse drug reactions between the two groups (P>0. 05). Conclusion:The combination of Bailing capsules and salvianolate can re-duce the inflammatory reaction and improve renal vascular endothelial function and renal function in the patients with diabetic nephrop-athy in Ⅳ phase with promising safety and few adverse reactions.

Clinical Observation of Bailing Capsules Combined with Calcium Dobesilate Dispersible Tablets in the Treatment of Diabetic Nephropathy in Phase Ⅳ / 中国药师

Objective:To explore the therapeutic effect on blood glucose, lipid, and renal function of Bailing capsules combined with calcium dobesilate dispersible tablets in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. Methods: Totally 216 patients with diabetic ne-phropathy in phase Ⅳ were randomly divided into the control group (108 cases) and the treatment group (108 cases). The control group was given the conventional therapy, and the treatment group was treated with Bailing capsules combined with calcium dobesilate dispersible tablets additionally. The levels of serum creatine (Scr), urean ntrogen (BUN), endothelin (ET-1), β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) ,cystatin C ( CYC) and urinary albumin excretion rate ( UAER) were detected for all the patients before and after the treat-ment. The adverse drug reactions were observed as well. Results:After the treatment, all the indices in the two groups were all obvi-ously decreased (P0. 05). The adverse drug reactions showed no significant differences between the two groups (P>0. 05). Conclusion:The effect of Bailing capsules combined with calcium dobesilate dispersible tablets is better than that of calcium dobesilate dispersible tablets in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy in phase IV, which can improve the renal function indices with high safety and without notable influence on blood glucose and lipid.