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Key performance indicators of COVID-19 contact tracing in Belgium from September 2020 to December 2021.
Kremer, Cécile; Willem, Lander; Boone, Jorden; Arrazola de Oñate, Wouter; Hammami, Naïma; Faes, Christel; Hens, Niel.
Afiliação
  • Kremer C; Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and statistical Bioinformatics, Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
  • Willem L; Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
  • Boone J; Family Medicine and Population Health, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
  • Arrazola de Oñate W; KPMG Advisory, Public Sector Practice, Zaventem, Belgium.
  • Hammami N; Belgian Lung and Tuberculosis Association, Brussels, Belgium.
  • Faes C; Flemish Association for Respiratory Health and Tuberculosis, Leuven, Belgium.
  • Hens N; Department of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Department of Care, Flemish Region, Brussels, Belgium.
PLoS One ; 18(10): e0292346, 2023.
Article em En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37862313
The goal of tracing, testing, and quarantining contacts of infected individuals is to contain the spread of infectious diseases, a strategy widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, limited research exists on the effectiveness of contact tracing, especially with regard to key performance indicators (KPIs), such as the proportion of cases arising from previously identified contacts. In our study, we analyzed contact tracing data from Belgium collected between September 2020 and December 2021 to assess the impact of contact tracing on SARS-CoV-2 transmission and understand its characteristics. Among confirmed cases involved in contact tracing in the Flemish and Brussels-Capital regions, 19.1% were previously identified as close contacts and were aware of prior exposure. These cases, referred to as 'known' to contact tracing operators, reported on average fewer close contacts compared to newly identified individuals (0.80 versus 1.05), resulting in fewer secondary cases (0.23 versus 0.28). Additionally, we calculated the secondary attack rate, representing infections per contact, which was on average lower for the 'known' cases (0.22 versus 0.25) between December 2020 and August 2021. These findings indicate the effectiveness of contact tracing in Belgium in reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Although we were unable to quantify the exact number of prevented cases, our findings emphasize the importance of contact tracing as a public health measure. In addition, contact tracing data provide indications of potential shifts in transmission patterns among different age groups associated with emerging variants of concern and increasing vaccination rates.
Assuntos

Texto completo: 1 Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: COVID-19 Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2023 Tipo de documento: Article

Texto completo: 1 Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: COVID-19 Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2023 Tipo de documento: Article