Incidence and length of outbreak period of COVID-19 and population density in comparison with seasonal influenza in Japan.
IJID Reg
; 2: 154-157, 2022 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35721437
ABSTRACT
Objectives:
There is no consensus regarding the impact of population density on the transmission of respiratory viral infections such as COVID-19 and seasonal influenza. Our study aimed to determine the correlation between population density and the incidence and duration of COVID-19 transmission.Methods:
Publicly available data for confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan, from January 2020 through November 2021, were retrospectively collected. The average numbers of seasonal influenza cases reported in the national database from 2013-2014 through 2019-2020 were identified. Using data for COVID-19 and seasonal influenza population density and incidence rates (age-adjusted), the Pearson's correlation coefficient was determined.Results:
A significant positive correlation between log population density and length of outbreak period was observed for COVID-19 (r = 0.734; p < 0.001) but not for seasonal influenza. Additionally, a significant linear correlation was observed between population density and age-adjusted incidence rate for COVID-19 (r = 0.692; p < 0.001) but not for seasonal influenza.Conclusions:
In Japan, areas with high population density experienced a prolonged and more intense COVID-19 outbreak compared with areas with low population density. This was not observed with seasonal influenza, suggesting that public health measures against COVID-19 should be tailored according to population density.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article