Emerging infectious diseases
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Emerging Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Social Distancing Interventions to Delay or Flatten the Epidemic Curve of Coronavirus Disease.
By April 2, 2020, >1 million persons worldwide were infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. We used a mathematical model to investigate the effectiveness of social distancing interventions in a mid-sized city. Interventions reduced contacts of adults >60 years of age, adults 20-59 years of age, and children <19 years of age for 6 weeks. ⋯ We noted that, while social distancing interventions were in place, most new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths were averted, even with modest reductions in contact among adults. However, when interventions ended, the epidemic rebounded. Our models suggest that social distancing can provide crucial time to increase healthcare capacity but must occur in conjunction with testing and contact tracing of all suspected cases to mitigate virus transmission.
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Emerging Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
SARS-CoV-2 Transmission from Presymptomatic Meeting Attendee, Germany.
During a meeting in Munich, Germany, a presymptomatic attendee with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infected at least 11 of 13 other participants. Although 5 participants had no or mild symptoms, 6 had typical coronavirus disease, without dyspnea. Our findings suggest hand shaking and face-to-face contact as possible modes of transmission.
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Emerging Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
Case ReportsInfectious SARS-CoV-2 in Feces of Patient with Severe COVID-19.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was isolated from feces of a patient in China with coronavirus disease who died. Confirmation of infectious virus in feces affirms the potential for fecal-oral or fecal-respiratory transmission and warrants further study.
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Emerging Infect. Dis. · Aug 2020
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Transmission Potential, Iran, 2020.
To determine the transmission potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Iran in 2020, we estimated the reproduction number as 4.4 (95% CI 3.9-4.9) by using a generalized growth model and 3.5 (95% CI 1.3-8.1) by using epidemic doubling time. The reproduction number decreased to 1.55 after social distancing interventions were implemented.