[Analysis on hepatitis B cases reported from surveillance points in China, 2019].

Objective: To understand the characteristics of hepatitis B cases reported through the National Notifiable Disease Reported System (NNDRS) of China in 2019, analyze the quality of hepatitis B reporting. Methods: The survey forms and reporting cards of hepatitis B cases in 200 surveillance points in China in 2019 were collected from NNDRS, the completeness rate of the reporting card was calculated, and the reported hepatitis B cases were verified based on the diagnostic criteria (WS 299-2008). The clinical types of the cases after verification were compared with the reported ones, the consistency was evaluated with Kappa test. The reasons for the inconsistent clinical types of the cases were analyzed. Results: In 2019, a total of 64 686 hepatitis B cases were reported through NNDRS. Acute, chronic and unclassified hepatitis B cases accounted for 5.8%, 92.4% and 1.8%, respectively. The average age of reported cases was 47 (47±15) years, and males accounted for 64.4%. The average level of alanine aminotransferase was 214.2 (214.2±1 253.4) U/L. The reported cases mainly worked in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery, and water conservancy (50.6%, 32 722). The proportions of cases reported from the eastern, western and central regions were 42.5% (27 501),22.1% (14 315) and 35.4% (22 870), respectively. The consistent rate of the clinical types between the reported cases and the verified cases was 58.8%, with a Kappa value of 0.15. For the 39 271 cases confirmed as acute and chronic hepatitis B cases in the reporting cards, the consistent rate of the clinical types between the reported cases and the verified cases was 96.9%, with a Kappa value of 0.73. In 94.5% (24 267/25 681) of the cases with inconsistent clinical types, the reporting card information were incomplete. Conclusion: The diagnosis of hepatitis B has been improved in the hepatitis B surveillance in China, but it is necessary to improve the completeness of the reporting cards of hepatitis B cases to NNDRS.

Modeling of network based digital contact tracing and testing strategies, including the pre-exposure notification system, for the COVID-19 pandemic.

With more than 1.7 million COVID-19 deaths, identifying effective measures to prevent COVID-19 is a top priority. We developed a mathematical model to simulate the COVID-19 pandemic with digital contact tracing and testing strategies. The model uses a real-world social network generated from a high-resolution contact data set of 180 students. This model incorporates infectivity variations, test sensitivities, incubation period, and asymptomatic cases. We present a method to extend the weighted temporal social network and present simulations on a network of 5000 students. The purpose of this work is to investigate optimal quarantine rules and testing strategies with digital contact tracing. The results show that the traditional strategy of quarantining direct contacts reduces infections by less than 20% without sufficient testing. Periodic testing every 2 weeks without contact tracing reduces infections by less than 3%. A variety of strategies are discussed including testing second and third degree contacts and the pre-exposure notification system, which acts as a social radar warning users how far they are from COVID-19. The most effective strategy discussed in this work was combining the pre-exposure notification system with testing second and third degree contacts. This strategy reduces infections by 18.3% when 30% of the population uses the app, 45.2% when 50% of the population uses the app, 72.1% when 70% of the population uses the app, and 86.8% when 95% of the population uses the app. When simulating the model on an extended network of 5000 students, the results are similar with the contact tracing app reducing infections by up to 79%.

Perfil dos casos de sífilis congênita no rio grande do norte: estudo de série temporal / Profile of Congenital Syphilis cases in Rio Grande do Norte State: a Temporal Series Study / El perfil de los casos de sífilis congénita en Rio Grande do Norte: Estudiode Serie Temporal

Objetivo:Analisar a incidência, a mortalidade e o perfil dos casos de sífilis congênita no Rio Grande do Norte entre 2014 e 2018. Metodologia:Trata-se de um estudo epidemiológico, quantitativo, ecológico, realizado com dados de sífilis congênita registrados no Sinan. Resultados:A taxa de incidência e mortalidade por sífilis congênita duplicaram no Estado no período analisado. A maioria das crianças foi diagnosticada com menos de 7 dias após o nascimento, sendo mais predominante em filhos de mães com idade entre 20 e 29 anos, com baixa escolaridade e pardas, que foram diagnosticadas com sífilis recente e que tiveram acesso ao pré-natal. A maioria teve o diagnóstico da sífilis materna durante o pré-natal, mas não realizou tratamento adequado e o parceiro não recebeu tratamento. Conclusões:Os achados apontam para necessidade de estratégias para qualificação da atenção pré-natal com intuito de evitar a transmissão vertical, especialmente nesses grupos mais susceptíveis e vulneráveis (AU).

Objective:To analyze the incidence, mortality, and profile of cases of congenital syphilis at the Rio Grande do Norte between 2014 and 2018. Methodology:This is an epidemiological, quantitative, ecological study conducted with data on congenital syphilis registered at Sinan. Results:The incidence and mortality from congenital syphilis doubled in Rio Grande do Norte State during the analyzed period. Most children were diagnosed less than seven days after birth, being more prevalent in children of mothers aged 20 to 29 years, with low education and mixed-race, diagnosed with recent syphilis, and who had access to prenatal care. Most were diagnosed with maternal syphilis during prenatal care but did not receive adequate treatment, and the partner did not receive treatment. Conclusions:The findings show the need for strategies for quality prenatal care to avoid vertical transmission, especially in these most susceptible and vulnerable groups (AU).

Objetivo: Analizar la incidencia, la mortalidad y el perfil de los casos de sífilis congénita en el Río Grande del Norte entre 2014 y 2018.Metodología: Se trata de un estudio epidemiológico, cuantitativo y ecológico realizado con los datos de sífilis congénita registrados en el Sinan.Resultados: La incidencia y mortalidad por sífilis congénita se duplicó en el estado de Río Grande do Norte durante el período analizado. La mayoría de los niños fueron diagnosticados en menos de siete días después del nacimiento, siendo más prevalente en los hijos de madres de 20 a 29 años, con baja educación y mestizos, diagnosticados con sífilis reciente y que tuvieron acceso a la atención prenatal. La mayoría fueron diagnosticados de sífilis materna durante la atención prenatal pero no recibieron el tratamiento adecuado, y la pareja no recibió tratamiento.Conclusiones: Los hallazgos muestran la necesidad de estrategias de atención prenatal de calidad para evitar la transmisión vertical, especialmente en estos grupos más susceptibles y vulnerables (AU).

[COVID-19 as an occupational disease or work-related accident: Considerations regarding insurance cover and reporting obligation in the statutory accident insurance]. / COVID-19 als Berufskrankheit oder Arbeitsunfall: Überlegungen zu Versicherungsschutz und Meldepflicht in der gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung.

The COVID-19 illness can occur as an occupational disease or work-related accident. According to the German list of occupational diseases, recognition as an occupational disease 3101 requires occupational exposure of an insured person who has been exposed to an increased risk of infection compared to the general population as a result of their occupational activity in one of the four areas: (1) health service or (2) social welfare sector, (3) laboratory or (4) during activities with increased risk of infection comparable to (1) to (3). The insurance cover covers employees, self-employed people - if not exempted from insurance cover - and honorary workers. The COVID-19 disease is subject to legal notification, mostly in conjunction with a contemporary SARS-CoV-2 virus detection. Regarding insured people who are not included within the aforementioned areas (1) to (4), the COVID-19 illness can be acknowledged as an occupational accident if the intense and direct contact with infected people - not intended as in the case of occupational disease 3101 - but otherwise situationally results from the insured activity itself.

Past eight-year malaria data in Gedeo zone, southern Ethiopia: trend, reporting-quality, spatiotemporal distribution, and association with socio-demographic and meteorological variables.

BACKGROUND: Informed decision making is underlined by all tiers in the health system. Poor data record system coupled with under- (over)-reporting of malaria cases affects the country's malaria elimination activities. Thus, malaria data at health facilities and health offices are important particularly to monitor and evaluate the elimination progresses. This study was intended to assess overall reported malaria cases, reporting quality, spatiotemporal trends and factors associated in Gedeo zone, South Ethiopia. METHODS: Past 8 years retrospective data stored in 17 health centers and 5 district health offices in Gedeo Zone, South Ethiopia were extracted. Malaria cases data at each health center with sociodemographic information, between January 2012 and December 2019, were included. Meteorological data were obtained from the national meteorology agency of Ethiopia. The data were analyzed using Stata 13. RESULTS: A total of 485,414 suspected cases were examined for malaria during the previous 8 years at health centers. Of these suspects, 57,228 (11.79%) were confirmed malaria cases with an overall decline during the 8-year period. We noted that 3758 suspected cases and 467 confirmed malaria cases were not captured at the health offices. Based on the health centers records, the proportions of Plasmodium falciparum (49.74%) and P. vivax (47.59%) infection were nearly equivalent (p = 0.795). The former was higher at low altitudes while the latter was higher at higher altitudes. The over 15 years of age group accounted for 11.47% of confirmed malaria cases (p < 0.001). There was high spatiotemporal variation: the highest case record was during Belg (12.52%) and in Dilla town (18,150, 13.17%, p < 0.001) which is located at low altitude. Monthly rainfall and minimum temperature exhibited strong associations with confirmed malaria cases. CONCLUSION: A notable overall decline in malaria cases was observed during the eight-year period. Both P. falciparum and P. vivax were found at equivalent endemicity level; hence control measures should continue targeting both species. The noticed under reporting, the high malaria burden in urban settings, low altitudes and Belg season need spatiotemporal consideration by the elimination program.

Officially Confirmed COVID-19 and Unreported COVID-19-Like Illness Death Counts: An Assessment of Reporting Discrepancy in Bangladesh.

Reporting discrepancies between officially confirmed COVID-19 death counts and unreported COVID-19-like illness (CLI) death counts have been evident across the world, including Bangladesh. Publicly available data were used to explore the differences between confirmed COVID-19 death counts and deaths with possible COVID-19 symptoms between March 2, 2020 and August 22, 2020. Unreported CLI death counts totaled more than half of the confirmed COVID-19 death counts during the study period. However, the reporting authority did not consider CLI deaths, which might produce incomplete and unreliable COVID-19 data and respective mortality rates. All deaths with possible COVID-19 symptoms need to be included in provisional death counts to better estimate the COVID-19 mortality rate and to develop data-driven COVID-19 response strategies. An urgent initiative is needed to prepare a comprehensive guideline for reporting COVID-19 deaths.

Do changes in STEC diagnostics mislead interpretation of disease surveillance data in Switzerland? Time trends in positivity, 2007 to 2016.

BackgroundLaboratory-confirmed cases of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) have been notifiable to the National Notification System for Infectious Diseases in Switzerland since 1999. Since 2015, a large increase in case numbers has been observed. Around the same time, syndromic multiplex PCR started to replace other diagnostic methods in standard laboratory practice for gastrointestinal pathogen testing, suggesting that the increase in notified cases is due to a change in test practices and numbers.AimThis study examined the impact of changes in diagnostic methods, in particular the introduction of multiplex PCR panels, on routine STEC surveillance data in Switzerland.MethodsWe analysed routine laboratory data from 11 laboratories, which reported 61.9% of all STEC cases from 2007 to 2016 to calculate the positivity, i.e. the rate of the number of positive STEC tests divided by the total number of tests performed.ResultsThe introduction of multiplex PCR had a strong impact on STEC test frequency and identified cases, with the number of tests performed increasing sevenfold from 2007 to 2016. Still, age- and sex-standardised positivity increased from 0.8% in 2007 to 1.7% in 2016.ConclusionIncreasing positivity suggests that the increase in case notifications cannot be attributed to an increase in test numbers alone. Therefore, we cannot exclude a real epidemiological trend for the observed increase. Modernising the notification system to address current gaps in information availability, e.g. diagnostic methods, and improved triangulation of clinical presentation, diagnostic and serotype information are needed to deal with emerging disease and technological advances.

Investigating the Impact of Using an Alternate Classification Method for Race and Hispanic Ethnicity on Rates of Reported Gonorrhea.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to examine how the classification of gonorrhea cases by race and Hispanic ethnicity (HE) affects the measurement of racial/HE disparities in the rates of reported gonorrhea. METHODS: We examined gonorrhea cases reported through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2017, and assigned race and HE using (1) "current classification," where cases with HE are classified as Hispanic regardless of race (e.g., Hispanic, non-Hispanic White, and non-Hispanic Black), and 2) "alternate classification," which separates each race category by HE (e.g., Hispanic White and non-Hispanic White). We estimated annual gonorrhea rates during 2010 to 2017 by race/HE category and calculated disparity measures (index of disparity, population-attributable proportion, and Gini coefficient) for gonorrhea rates under each classification strategy. RESULTS: All disparity measures revealed decreases in racial/HE disparities in the rates of reported gonorrhea during 2010 to 2017, regardless of classification strategy; however, the magnitude of the disparity and the percent change in the disparity over time varied across disparity measures. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding how classification of race/HE affects observed disparities is critical when monitoring interventions to reduce disparities and improve health equity.

Completeness of tuberculosis records held on the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System (SINAN) in Santa Catarina, Brazil, 2007-2016. / Completude dos registros de tuberculose no Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (Sinan) em Santa Catarina, Brasil, 2007-2016.

Objective to describe the completeness of tuberculosis (TB) case records in Santa Catarina, Brazil, from 2007 to 2016. Methods this was a descriptive study using Notifiable Health Conditions Information System data; completeness, consistency of notification form records and timely notification were analyzed in order to assess data quality. Results completeness of notification form mandatory fields was considered good; essential fields were less complete, in particular the 'Schooling' field; low completeness of follow-up sputum smear microscopy and failure to update culture tests and HIV serology tests demonstrate weaknesses in follow-up records. Conclusion the tuberculosis surveillance system data were considered adequate for guiding tuberculosis prevention and control actions; record monitoring and periodical evaluation, as well as adoption of strategies to improve follow-up report completeness are recommended.

Coletiva de imprensa: anúncios do Governo SP - 05/06/2020

Saiba mais em: www.saopaulo.sp.gov.br/coronavirus/planosp

Completeness of yellow fever notification forms in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, 2017. / Completude das fichas de notificação de febre amarela no estado do Espírito Santo, 2017.

Objective to describe the completeness of data on yellow fever notification forms in the municipalities of the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, in 2017. Methods this is a descriptive ecological study with data from the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System (SINAN); form completeness was categorized as poor (<70.0%), regular (70-89.9%) or excellent (≥90.0%); thematic maps were prepared. Results 53.1% of the municipalities had poor or regular classification for many notification form variables, especially case Final Classification (57.1%), Confirmation/Dismissal Criterion (63.2%) and Closure Date (26.5%), which are required fields. Conclusion completeness was poor or regular for several variables, pointing to the need for a systematic assessment of information on yellow fever held on SINAN.

[Mandatory notification of infectious diseases and agents in Germany: development and suggestions for improvement]. / Meldepflichten für Infektionskrankheiten und Infektionserreger in Deutschland: Entwicklung und Verbesserungsvorschläge.

With the entry into force of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG) in 2001, the reporting obligations for infectious diseases and infectious agents were placed on a new foundation. For the first time, a distinction was made between an obligation for the notification of infectious diseases by physicians and a notification obligation for infectious agents by laboratories. The aim was to reduce the notification burden on physicians and thus to improve the quality of the notifications. Since then, numerous new obligations for notifications have been added.The aim of this work is to describe and discuss the mandatory notification of infectious diseases in Germany on the basis of their development - compared to previous regulations in Germany (Federal Communicable Diseases Act) as well as international and Europe-wide recommendations (IHR; decisions of the EU Commission 1999, 2018) - and to submit suggestions for improvement.Regarding the considerable increase in reporting requirements and reports in recent years, and the fact that the IfSG provides other surveillance systems in addition to mandatory reporting, the mandatory reporting system should be focused on the necessary reporting requirements. In a first step, the proposed abolition of the mandatory reporting of noroviruses and rotaviruses could relieve both the notifiers and the health authorities, thus enabling more efficient reporting and more intensive and better investigation by the health authorities.

Real-time tracking of self-reported symptoms to predict potential COVID-19.

A total of 2,618,862 participants reported their potential symptoms of COVID-19 on a smartphone-based app. Among the 18,401 who had undergone a SARS-CoV-2 test, the proportion of participants who reported loss of smell and taste was higher in those with a positive test result (4,668 of 7,178 individuals; 65.03%) than in those with a negative test result (2,436 of 11,223 participants; 21.71%) (odds ratio = 6.74; 95% confidence interval = 6.31-7.21). A model combining symptoms to predict probable infection was applied to the data from all app users who reported symptoms (805,753) and predicted that 140,312 (17.42%) participants are likely to have COVID-19.

Identification of micro-regions with under-reported tuberculosis cases in Brazil, 2012-2014. / Identificação de microrregiões com subnotificação de casos de tuberculose no Brasil, 2012 a 2014.

OBJECTIVE: to identify Brazilian micro-regions with under-reported tuberculosis cases, from 2012 to 2014. METHODS: this was an ecological study using data from the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System (SINAN). The indirect estimator of the proportion of notified cases (EIPCN) was calculated as the mean between the proportion of cases that adhered to treatment and the proportion of those who underwent sputum smear microscopy. Negative Binomial Regression was used to investigate evidence of under-reporting in the micro-regions selected through EIPCN. RESULTS: under-reporting was suspected in 89 (17.5%) micro-regions with EIPCN below 83%. The EIPCN rate ratio in the regression model was 0.996 (95%CI 0.988;1.003) considering all the data and equal to 0.987 (95%CI 0.974;0.999) excluding the 89 micro-regions with suspected under-reporting. CONCLUSION: evidence of tuberculosis case under-reporting was found in micro-regions where basic indicators of surveillance system quality had poor performance.