Healthcare personnel are front-line workers for disease prevention and control. On 6 Apr 2020, the Department of Disease Control received a notification on a cluster of healthcare personnel in a private hospital infected with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The event was investigated and a cross-sectional study was conducted to describe the epidemiological characteristics of the cluster, including risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. A confirmed COVID-19 case was a person with SARS-CoV-2 virus tested by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in one reference laboratory; and a probable COVID-19 case was a person who died of pneumonia in the hospital, did not tested for COVID-19, and had an epidemiological linkage to a confirmed case. Among total 2,287 healthcare personnel working at the hospital, 25 were confirmed cases (attack rate 1.1%). Although the attack rate was relatively low, the specific attack rate in the inpatient ward was high (32.4%) due to delayed outbreak detection. Analytic results suggested that attending infection prevention and control (IPC) training was a protective factor for COVID-19 (Odds ratio 0.04, 95% CI 0.00-0.64). In addition, a survey on personal protective equipment (PPE) showed that 66.7% of those conducting sputum suction/drug nebulization and 83.9% of those performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation used inappropriate PPE. Therefore, IPC training, including appropriate use of PPE, should be provided to all healthcare personnel. In addition, healthcare personnel should be alert for COVID-19 infection, and protect themselves according to the standard protocols. Routine screening of healthcare personnel should be performed during the COVID-19 epidemic.
医护人员是疾病防控的一线工作者。2020年4月6日，疾病预防控制司收到了关于一家私立医院医护人员聚集感染冠状病毒病(COVID-19)的通知。对该事件进行了调查，并进行了横断面研究，以描述该聚集性病例的流行病学特征，包括感染SARS-CoV-2的危险因素。1例新冠肺炎确诊病例为1家参比实验室逆转录聚合酶链反应检测的SARS-CoV-2病毒感染者;疑似病例是指在医院死于肺炎、未进行COVID-19检测、与确诊病例有流行病学联系的人。在医院工作的2287名医护人员中，确诊病例25例(发病率1.1%)。虽然发病率相对较低，但由于疫情发现较晚，住院病房的具体发病率较高(32.4%)。分析结果显示，参加感染预防和控制(IPC)培训是COVID-19的保护因素(优势比0.04,95% CI 0.00-0.64)。此外，对个人防护装备(PPE)的调查显示，66.7%的吸痰/药物雾化人员和83.9%的心肺复苏人员使用了不适当的PPE。因此，应向所有卫生保健人员提供IPC培训，包括适当使用个人防护装备。此外，医务人员应提高对COVID-19感染的警惕，并按照标准方案保护自己。在COVID-19流行期间，应对卫生保健人员进行常规筛查。
{"title":"An Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) among Healthcare Personnel in a Private Hospital Related to Delayed Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Foci","authors":"Borimas Saksirisampan, Thanya Rodsuk, Natthaprang Nittayasoot, Patchanee Plernprom, Ratchayapat Samphao, Paratthakorn Pingka, Chuleeporn Jirapongsa, Repeepong Suphanchaimat, Sirima Thananun, Anek Mungoomglang","doi":"10.59096/osir.v13i3.262807","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v13i3.262807","url":null,"abstract":"Healthcare personnel are front-line workers for disease prevention and control. On 6 Apr 2020, the Department of Disease Control received a notification on a cluster of healthcare personnel in a private hospital infected with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The event was investigated and a cross-sectional study was conducted to describe the epidemiological characteristics of the cluster, including risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. A confirmed COVID-19 case was a person with SARS-CoV-2 virus tested by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in one reference laboratory; and a probable COVID-19 case was a person who died of pneumonia in the hospital, did not tested for COVID-19, and had an epidemiological linkage to a confirmed case. Among total 2,287 healthcare personnel working at the hospital, 25 were confirmed cases (attack rate 1.1%). Although the attack rate was relatively low, the specific attack rate in the inpatient ward was high (32.4%) due to delayed outbreak detection. Analytic results suggested that attending infection prevention and control (IPC) training was a protective factor for COVID-19 (Odds ratio 0.04, 95% CI 0.00-0.64). In addition, a survey on personal protective equipment (PPE) showed that 66.7% of those conducting sputum suction/drug nebulization and 83.9% of those performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation used inappropriate PPE. Therefore, IPC training, including appropriate use of PPE, should be provided to all healthcare personnel. In addition, healthcare personnel should be alert for COVID-19 infection, and protect themselves according to the standard protocols. Routine screening of healthcare personnel should be performed during the COVID-19 epidemic.","PeriodicalId":296285,"journal":{"name":"Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal","volume":"153 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133289111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-09-24DOI: 10.59096/osir.v13i3.262806
Suphanat Wongsanuphat, Charuttaporn Jitpeera, S. Iamsirithaworn, Yongjua Laosiritaworn, P. Thammawijaya
With information technology, a traditional coronavirus disease (COVID-19) surveillance system was improved with five additional features including auto-verification system, laboratory reporting system, confirmed case notification system, data feedback loops, and integrated event-based surveillance system. We conducted a surveillance evaluation to compare quantitative and qualitative attributes before and after the improvement. Qualitative and quantitative studies were conducted to measure the effectiveness of enhancing the information system according to the US-CDC framework. Qualitative attributes consisting of simplicity, acceptability, accessibility, flexibility, and stability, and quantitative attributes consisting of timeliness and completeness were investigated and compared between pre-enhanced and post-enhanced information system using the chi-square test. During January to April, there were 74,565 patients under investigation reported to the surveillance system. We interviewed a total of 16 health personnel. After the improvement, we observed statistically significant increases of completeness and timeliness from 55 to 66 and 75 to 96 percent, respectively. Almost all stakeholders (15/16) reported that the system was improved significantly. All qualitative attribute scores were increased including acceptability from 57 to 73, simplicity from 43 to 77, stability from 47 to 80, flexibility from 57 to 73, and usefulness from 50 to 80. In summary, all the qualitative and quantitative attributes were improved significantly (p-value<0.01 for the chi-square test). Enhanced information system with careful understanding of the existing workflow and stakeholders could improve performance of the surveillance system in both qualitative and quantitative attributes. Surveillance evaluation process could be used to assess the improvement, gather feedback, and identify the gaps.
{"title":"An Evaluation of the Enhanced Information System for COVID-19 Surveillance in Thailand, 2020: A Pre-Post Intervention Comparison","authors":"Suphanat Wongsanuphat, Charuttaporn Jitpeera, S. Iamsirithaworn, Yongjua Laosiritaworn, P. Thammawijaya","doi":"10.59096/osir.v13i3.262806","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v13i3.262806","url":null,"abstract":"With information technology, a traditional coronavirus disease (COVID-19) surveillance system was improved with five additional features including auto-verification system, laboratory reporting system, confirmed case notification system, data feedback loops, and integrated event-based surveillance system. We conducted a surveillance evaluation to compare quantitative and qualitative attributes before and after the improvement. Qualitative and quantitative studies were conducted to measure the effectiveness of enhancing the information system according to the US-CDC framework. Qualitative attributes consisting of simplicity, acceptability, accessibility, flexibility, and stability, and quantitative attributes consisting of timeliness and completeness were investigated and compared between pre-enhanced and post-enhanced information system using the chi-square test. During January to April, there were 74,565 patients under investigation reported to the surveillance system. We interviewed a total of 16 health personnel. After the improvement, we observed statistically significant increases of completeness and timeliness from 55 to 66 and 75 to 96 percent, respectively. Almost all stakeholders (15/16) reported that the system was improved significantly. All qualitative attribute scores were increased including acceptability from 57 to 73, simplicity from 43 to 77, stability from 47 to 80, flexibility from 57 to 73, and usefulness from 50 to 80. In summary, all the qualitative and quantitative attributes were improved significantly (p-value<0.01 for the chi-square test). Enhanced information system with careful understanding of the existing workflow and stakeholders could improve performance of the surveillance system in both qualitative and quantitative attributes. Surveillance evaluation process could be used to assess the improvement, gather feedback, and identify the gaps.","PeriodicalId":296285,"journal":{"name":"Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal","volume":"65 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121121164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-09-24DOI: 10.59096/osir.v13i3.262804
Suphanat Wongsanuphat, Siriwat Sangwanloy, Prajak Sopha, Woraphong Buangsuang, Sataphat Denduang, Aekachat Thongplean, Voravit Payungkiatbawon, Yongjua Laosiritaworn, S. Iamsirithaworn, P. Thammawijaya
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was designated as a dangerous communicable disease by law in Thailand. However, existing surveillance systems was not timely and accurate. Therefore, we conducted an innovation development research to improve the system. The research comprises two objectives; (i) to describe the existing surveillance system and its challenges, and (ii) to enhance surveillance system through the improvement of information technology. All related stakeholders, from the Department of Disease Control to hospitals, were engaged and communicated to identify the challenges of the surveillance system. Several challenges were reported, for instance, lack of timeliness, overload of verification, inaccessibility of data feedback, and difficulty of cluster identification. To overcome these challenges, five additional features were developed, tested, and implemented. These five features included auto-verification, laboratory reporting, data exporting, data visualization, and integration with the existing event-based surveillance. The system was tested by developers and users and implemented nationwide. The activities were made possible by several communication routes including chat, email, and teleconference. Early engagement of stakeholders, understanding of existing surveillance systems, and utilizing information technologies to solve challenges are substantially crucial. Our study provides a new opportunity for the improvement of the surveillance system during the period of travel restriction in many countries.
{"title":"Enhancing Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Surveillance System through Information Technology, Thailand, 2020","authors":"Suphanat Wongsanuphat, Siriwat Sangwanloy, Prajak Sopha, Woraphong Buangsuang, Sataphat Denduang, Aekachat Thongplean, Voravit Payungkiatbawon, Yongjua Laosiritaworn, S. Iamsirithaworn, P. Thammawijaya","doi":"10.59096/osir.v13i3.262804","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v13i3.262804","url":null,"abstract":"Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was designated as a dangerous communicable disease by law in Thailand. However, existing surveillance systems was not timely and accurate. Therefore, we conducted an innovation development research to improve the system. The research comprises two objectives; (i) to describe the existing surveillance system and its challenges, and (ii) to enhance surveillance system through the improvement of information technology. All related stakeholders, from the Department of Disease Control to hospitals, were engaged and communicated to identify the challenges of the surveillance system. Several challenges were reported, for instance, lack of timeliness, overload of verification, inaccessibility of data feedback, and difficulty of cluster identification. To overcome these challenges, five additional features were developed, tested, and implemented. These five features included auto-verification, laboratory reporting, data exporting, data visualization, and integration with the existing event-based surveillance. The system was tested by developers and users and implemented nationwide. The activities were made possible by several communication routes including chat, email, and teleconference. Early engagement of stakeholders, understanding of existing surveillance systems, and utilizing information technologies to solve challenges are substantially crucial. Our study provides a new opportunity for the improvement of the surveillance system during the period of travel restriction in many countries.","PeriodicalId":296285,"journal":{"name":"Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126932872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Risk communication is incorporated into an emergency response system. In Thailand, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) manages emergencies through the Emergency Operation Center (EOC). As a part of the EOC, the risk communication unit provides a hotline service that delivers information to and receives complaints and concerns from the general public. During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a chatbot, which is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) was used to support the hotline service. This paper focuses on how to design an informative chatbot for the COVID-19 pandemic period that disseminates information to the general public. The chatbot, named “COVID-19 Preventable”, was created based on the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) under two cycles of design and development. At the early stage of development, information from reliable sources was transformed into a question and answer system and imported to natural language processing in the Dialogflow on Google Cloud. The chatbot was the first official chatbot to communicate on COVID-19 on behalf of public health authorities. It consists of seven prompt features, namely, a situation report, how to protect yourself from COVID-19, fake news, self-screening for COVID-19, a list of nearest hospitals, the hotline number to call, and report notification. The uniquely informative and dynamic chatbot is likely to be an alternative channel for disseminating timely information on COVID-19.
{"title":"Designing a Competent Chatbot to Counter the COVID-19 Pandemic and Empower Risk Communication in an Emergency Response System","authors":"Chonnatee Rodsawang, Pongsutee Thongkliang, Theeraporn Intawong, Apisit Sonong, Yosita Thitiwatthana, S. Chottanapund","doi":"10.59096/osir.v13i2.262825","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v13i2.262825","url":null,"abstract":"Risk communication is incorporated into an emergency response system. In Thailand, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) manages emergencies through the Emergency Operation Center (EOC). As a part of the EOC, the risk communication unit provides a hotline service that delivers information to and receives complaints and concerns from the general public. During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a chatbot, which is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) was used to support the hotline service. This paper focuses on how to design an informative chatbot for the COVID-19 pandemic period that disseminates information to the general public. The chatbot, named “COVID-19 Preventable”, was created based on the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) under two cycles of design and development. At the early stage of development, information from reliable sources was transformed into a question and answer system and imported to natural language processing in the Dialogflow on Google Cloud. The chatbot was the first official chatbot to communicate on COVID-19 on behalf of public health authorities. It consists of seven prompt features, namely, a situation report, how to protect yourself from COVID-19, fake news, self-screening for COVID-19, a list of nearest hospitals, the hotline number to call, and report notification. The uniquely informative and dynamic chatbot is likely to be an alternative channel for disseminating timely information on COVID-19.","PeriodicalId":296285,"journal":{"name":"Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114781805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-30DOI: 10.59096/osir.v13i2.262819
Farooq Phiriyasart, S. Chantutanon, Fitreeyah Salaeh, A. Roka, Tidaporn Thepparat, Sunisa Kaesaman, Asip Useng, I. Abu, Rusna Weruma, Suratan Arrong, C. Sangsawang
From 30 Mar to 20 Apr 2020, an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in Thung Yang Daeng District of Pattani Province in Southern Thailand. An outbreak investigation was conducted to identify the outbreak’s magnitude, epidemiologic characteristics, and source of infection. A descriptive study was conducted in which we reviewed investigation reports of all Real Time - Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed COVID-19 cases and identified active local transmission villages. A case was defined as a person living in one of the active local transmission villages with laboratory confirmation of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A total of 27 laboratory-confirmed cases were identified from 471 individuals (overall attack rate 5.7%) who were deemed to be high-risk contacts. Among them, two cases were detected from the active case finding. The median age of the 27 cases was 46 years (Q1=28, Q3=58) and the male to female ratio was 1.07:1. The first imported case returned from religious gatherings at Markaz Yala, a place of worship in Yala Province. The analytic result showed that the group of religious contacts at Markaz Yala, local religious contacts, and household contacts of the confirmed cases, had a significantly higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection than other community members. Local quarantine for people returning from outbreak areas and religious gatherings, and for high-risk close contacts will be appropriate for the district context.
{"title":"Outbreak Investigation of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) among Islamic Missionaries in Southern Thailand, April 2020","authors":"Farooq Phiriyasart, S. Chantutanon, Fitreeyah Salaeh, A. Roka, Tidaporn Thepparat, Sunisa Kaesaman, Asip Useng, I. Abu, Rusna Weruma, Suratan Arrong, C. Sangsawang","doi":"10.59096/osir.v13i2.262819","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v13i2.262819","url":null,"abstract":"From 30 Mar to 20 Apr 2020, an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in Thung Yang Daeng District of Pattani Province in Southern Thailand. An outbreak investigation was conducted to identify the outbreak’s magnitude, epidemiologic characteristics, and source of infection. A descriptive study was conducted in which we reviewed investigation reports of all Real Time - Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed COVID-19 cases and identified active local transmission villages. A case was defined as a person living in one of the active local transmission villages with laboratory confirmation of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A total of 27 laboratory-confirmed cases were identified from 471 individuals (overall attack rate 5.7%) who were deemed to be high-risk contacts. Among them, two cases were detected from the active case finding. The median age of the 27 cases was 46 years (Q1=28, Q3=58) and the male to female ratio was 1.07:1. The first imported case returned from religious gatherings at Markaz Yala, a place of worship in Yala Province. The analytic result showed that the group of religious contacts at Markaz Yala, local religious contacts, and household contacts of the confirmed cases, had a significantly higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection than other community members. Local quarantine for people returning from outbreak areas and religious gatherings, and for high-risk close contacts will be appropriate for the district context.","PeriodicalId":296285,"journal":{"name":"Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal","volume":"61 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134642603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-29DOI: 10.59096/osir.v13i2.262823
Natthaprang Nittayasoot, Ratchayapat Samphao, Kanidta Poobua, R. Suphanchaimat
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic. After notification of a new COVID-19 case working in a restaurant on 10 Mar 2020, the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand initiated an investigation of the index case and all contacts. The aim was to identify COVID-19 cases associated with the index case, identify potential sources of disease, describe the epidemiological characteristics, and control the outbreak. We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study of the identified cases from active case finding. A total of three laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified, two of which were asymptomatic. The cases included the owner of the restaurant A (index), and two employees in the restaurant. In-dept interviews with the cases found that restaurant staffs and customers did not comply with important preventive methods such as social distancing and use of personal protective equipment. However, all cases were diligent about self-isolation when they were identified as having the infection by laboratory tests or when they developed symptoms. Following the investigation, the Thai government strengthened messaging about COVID-19 risks and prevention practices directed to restaurants.
{"title":"A Cluster of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Cases Linked to a Restaurant during Early Local SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Thailand","authors":"Natthaprang Nittayasoot, Ratchayapat Samphao, Kanidta Poobua, R. Suphanchaimat","doi":"10.59096/osir.v13i2.262823","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v13i2.262823","url":null,"abstract":"Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic. After notification of a new COVID-19 case working in a restaurant on 10 Mar 2020, the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand initiated an investigation of the index case and all contacts. The aim was to identify COVID-19 cases associated with the index case, identify potential sources of disease, describe the epidemiological characteristics, and control the outbreak. We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study of the identified cases from active case finding. A total of three laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified, two of which were asymptomatic. The cases included the owner of the restaurant A (index), and two employees in the restaurant. In-dept interviews with the cases found that restaurant staffs and customers did not comply with important preventive methods such as social distancing and use of personal protective equipment. However, all cases were diligent about self-isolation when they were identified as having the infection by laboratory tests or when they developed symptoms. Following the investigation, the Thai government strengthened messaging about COVID-19 risks and prevention practices directed to restaurants.","PeriodicalId":296285,"journal":{"name":"Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal","volume":"98 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114283697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Since before a global pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization, many countries have been implementing stringent screening protocols on international travelers. In Thailand, a ‘Health Beware Card’ (HBC) was provided to all travelers at ports of entry. On 5 Mar 2020, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) of the Thai Ministry of Public Health received a notification that there was a COVID-19 confirmed case who traveled from Lombardy, Italy. A joint investigation team commenced an investigation to describe epidemiological characteristics, and identify contacts and possible source cases. Totally three confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one asymptomatic infection were identified in this investigation. The index case was a 41-year-old Thai male. He notified local health providers immediately after the onset of symptoms as per HBC recommendations. Contact tracing led to the identification of three additional cases: two were peers who traveled together with the index case to Italy and one was a close friend. The attack rate among people visiting Italy in this cluster was 50%. Contact tracing was a key control measure to stop the spread of COVID-19, and awareness-raising measures limited local transmission from imported cases. For people traveling from a disease-infected zone, mandatory quarantine and laboratory screening must be enforced.
{"title":"Contact Tracing and Awareness-Raising Measures for Travelers Arriving in Thailand from High Risk Areas of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): A Cluster of Imported COVID-19 Cases from Italy, March 2020","authors":"Suphanat Wongsanuphat, Charuttaporn Jitpeera, Duangjai Konglapamnuay, Chuthawan Nilphat, Supiya Jantaramanee, R. Suphanchaimat","doi":"10.59096/osir.v13i2.262815","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v13i2.262815","url":null,"abstract":"Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Since before a global pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization, many countries have been implementing stringent screening protocols on international travelers. In Thailand, a ‘Health Beware Card’ (HBC) was provided to all travelers at ports of entry. On 5 Mar 2020, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) of the Thai Ministry of Public Health received a notification that there was a COVID-19 confirmed case who traveled from Lombardy, Italy. A joint investigation team commenced an investigation to describe epidemiological characteristics, and identify contacts and possible source cases. Totally three confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one asymptomatic infection were identified in this investigation. The index case was a 41-year-old Thai male. He notified local health providers immediately after the onset of symptoms as per HBC recommendations. Contact tracing led to the identification of three additional cases: two were peers who traveled together with the index case to Italy and one was a close friend. The attack rate among people visiting Italy in this cluster was 50%. Contact tracing was a key control measure to stop the spread of COVID-19, and awareness-raising measures limited local transmission from imported cases. For people traveling from a disease-infected zone, mandatory quarantine and laboratory screening must be enforced.","PeriodicalId":296285,"journal":{"name":"Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal","volume":"83 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126187082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-29DOI: 10.59096/osir.v13i2.262820
Ratchadaporn Papwijitsil, P. Suangtho, Rungrot Jaiyong, Sirima Thananun, Kalita Wareewanit, Tipamas Angthong, P. Doung-Ngern
On 29 Jan 2020, the Operation team was notified by the Emergency Operation Center that there was a Chinese man infected with SARS-CoV-2 admitted in a private hospital in Bangkok. Division of Epidemiology, Office of Disease Prevention and Control 1, 11, and Institute for Urban Disease Control and Prevention jointly deployed to conduct an investigation. Descriptive study was conducted by interviewing the index case about his symptoms, travel history, and reviewing medical records. Contact tracing was done. Close contacts of the index case were classified to high-risk and low-risk contacts. Laboratory testing for SARS-CoV-2 was done among high-risk contacts and symptomatic low-risk contacts. The index case was a 30-year-old Chinese. He had worked in Guangxi province, China. He spent 2 days in Wuhan city and 2 days in Guangzhou city before traveling to Thailand. He developed fever, cough, and sore throat after being in Thailand for 3 days. According to the median incubation period of COVID-19, he could be infected from China. Since he started traveling from China, he wore a surgical mask all the time. From contact tracing, the high-risk contacts that could be followed, none of them had laboratory test positive. Therefore, this strategy of wearing a face mask should be encouraged nationwide especially in case that physical distancing could not be done.
{"title":"An Investigation of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in a Chinese Tourist, January-February 2020: Surgical Mask Wearing in Pre-Physical Distancing Strategy","authors":"Ratchadaporn Papwijitsil, P. Suangtho, Rungrot Jaiyong, Sirima Thananun, Kalita Wareewanit, Tipamas Angthong, P. Doung-Ngern","doi":"10.59096/osir.v13i2.262820","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v13i2.262820","url":null,"abstract":"On 29 Jan 2020, the Operation team was notified by the Emergency Operation Center that there was a Chinese man infected with SARS-CoV-2 admitted in a private hospital in Bangkok. Division of Epidemiology, Office of Disease Prevention and Control 1, 11, and Institute for Urban Disease Control and Prevention jointly deployed to conduct an investigation. Descriptive study was conducted by interviewing the index case about his symptoms, travel history, and reviewing medical records. Contact tracing was done. Close contacts of the index case were classified to high-risk and low-risk contacts. Laboratory testing for SARS-CoV-2 was done among high-risk contacts and symptomatic low-risk contacts. The index case was a 30-year-old Chinese. He had worked in Guangxi province, China. He spent 2 days in Wuhan city and 2 days in Guangzhou city before traveling to Thailand. He developed fever, cough, and sore throat after being in Thailand for 3 days. According to the median incubation period of COVID-19, he could be infected from China. Since he started traveling from China, he wore a surgical mask all the time. From contact tracing, the high-risk contacts that could be followed, none of them had laboratory test positive. Therefore, this strategy of wearing a face mask should be encouraged nationwide especially in case that physical distancing could not be done.","PeriodicalId":296285,"journal":{"name":"Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal","volume":"121 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115197542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-03-30DOI: 10.59096/osir.v13i1.262846
C. Sansilapin, Nipapan Saritapirak, S. Sangrajrang
Thailand’s 2010-2014 national program for cervical cancer screening guidelines recommends that women aged 30-60 years should be screened every five years with the Papanicolau smear (Pap smear) method or visual inspection with acetic acid and that coverage should be at least 80%. However, from 2010-2014, the national coverage of cervical cancer screening was only 53.9%. We therefore evaluated healthcare workers’ knowledge of the guidelines and their practices regarding cervical cancer screening by Pap smear. We collected data using a structured questionnaire from 258 healthcare workers who had ordered or conducted cervical cancer screening for at least one year. Most (74.8%) healthcare workers knew that Pap smears should be done every five years among women aged 30 to 60 years. General practitioners and gynecologists had lower knowledge of the age criteria compared to nurses and technicians. Knowledge of the target age criteria was significantly associated with type of healthcare worker, workplace, gender and recent training (within the previous 3 years). The screening practice was significantly associated with type of healthcare worker and workplace. Providing up-to-date training on the national cervical cancer screening guidelines is necessary for all public hospital healthcare workers.
{"title":"Factors Associated with Knowledge and Practice of Healthcare Workers in Cervical Cancer Screening in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand","authors":"C. Sansilapin, Nipapan Saritapirak, S. Sangrajrang","doi":"10.59096/osir.v13i1.262846","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v13i1.262846","url":null,"abstract":"Thailand’s 2010-2014 national program for cervical cancer screening guidelines recommends that women aged 30-60 years should be screened every five years with the Papanicolau smear (Pap smear) method or visual inspection with acetic acid and that coverage should be at least 80%. However, from 2010-2014, the national coverage of cervical cancer screening was only 53.9%. We therefore evaluated healthcare workers’ knowledge of the guidelines and their practices regarding cervical cancer screening by Pap smear. We collected data using a structured questionnaire from 258 healthcare workers who had ordered or conducted cervical cancer screening for at least one year. Most (74.8%) healthcare workers knew that Pap smears should be done every five years among women aged 30 to 60 years. General practitioners and gynecologists had lower knowledge of the age criteria compared to nurses and technicians. Knowledge of the target age criteria was significantly associated with type of healthcare worker, workplace, gender and recent training (within the previous 3 years). The screening practice was significantly associated with type of healthcare worker and workplace. Providing up-to-date training on the national cervical cancer screening guidelines is necessary for all public hospital healthcare workers.","PeriodicalId":296285,"journal":{"name":"Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal","volume":"49 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125034047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-03-30DOI: 10.59096/osir.v13i1.262850
H. Praekunatham, Panupong Tantirat
Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a serious skin and soft tissue infection that can lead to disabilities and mortalities. A study was carried out to describe demographic characteristics of NF patients, and determine factors associated with disability and mortality. Information on all patients who were diagnosed as NF from 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2018 were extracted from the databases of Health Data Center in Thailand. Univariate and multivariate analyses using logistic regression were performed to determine the associated factors. In 2018, of total 19,071 NF cases, 6.3% died. Median age was 59.7 years old (Q1-Q3 = 49.1-69.5 years). Most of the cases developed NF at ankle and foot (43.0%), followed by lower leg (28.2%). The amputation rate among the cases was 8.2%. Multivariable analysis showed the significant risk factor for amputation as having diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR 6.81, 95% CI 5.97-7.77). Risk factors for mortality included being elderly (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.56-2.11), and having hypertension (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.00-1.36), cirrhosis (OR 4.26, 95% CI 3.42-5.28) or cancer (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.33-2.59). Morbidity and mortality among NF patients were significant in Thailand. Health workers should be trained for early diagnosis and intensive treatment for NF, especially among elderly and patients with chronic diseases in order to prevent the subsequent complications.
坏死性筋膜炎是一种严重的皮肤和软组织感染，可导致残疾和死亡。一项研究描述了NF患者的人口学特征，并确定了与残疾和死亡率相关的因素。从泰国卫生数据中心的数据库中提取了2018年1月1日至12月31日诊断为NF的所有患者的信息。使用逻辑回归进行单因素和多因素分析以确定相关因素。2018年，在19071例NF病例中，6.3%死亡。中位年龄59.7岁(Q1-Q3 = 49.1-69.5岁)。大多数病例发生在踝关节和足部(43.0%)，其次是小腿(28.2%)。其中截肢率为8.2%。多变量分析显示糖尿病是截肢的重要危险因素(调整后OR为6.81,95% CI为5.97-7.77)。死亡的危险因素包括老年人(OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.56-2.11)、高血压(OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.00-1.36)、肝硬化(OR 4.26, 95% CI 3.42-5.28)或癌症(OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.33-2.59)。在泰国，NF患者的发病率和死亡率是显著的。卫生工作者应接受NF早期诊断和强化治疗方面的培训，特别是在老年人和慢性病患者中，以预防随后的并发症。
{"title":"Factors Associated with Disability and Mortality among Necrotizing Fasciitis Patients in Thailand, 2018","authors":"H. Praekunatham, Panupong Tantirat","doi":"10.59096/osir.v13i1.262850","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v13i1.262850","url":null,"abstract":"Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a serious skin and soft tissue infection that can lead to disabilities and mortalities. A study was carried out to describe demographic characteristics of NF patients, and determine factors associated with disability and mortality. Information on all patients who were diagnosed as NF from 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2018 were extracted from the databases of Health Data Center in Thailand. Univariate and multivariate analyses using logistic regression were performed to determine the associated factors. In 2018, of total 19,071 NF cases, 6.3% died. Median age was 59.7 years old (Q1-Q3 = 49.1-69.5 years). Most of the cases developed NF at ankle and foot (43.0%), followed by lower leg (28.2%). The amputation rate among the cases was 8.2%. Multivariable analysis showed the significant risk factor for amputation as having diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR 6.81, 95% CI 5.97-7.77). Risk factors for mortality included being elderly (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.56-2.11), and having hypertension (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.00-1.36), cirrhosis (OR 4.26, 95% CI 3.42-5.28) or cancer (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.33-2.59). Morbidity and mortality among NF patients were significant in Thailand. Health workers should be trained for early diagnosis and intensive treatment for NF, especially among elderly and patients with chronic diseases in order to prevent the subsequent complications.","PeriodicalId":296285,"journal":{"name":"Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114928829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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