1Institute for Urban Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Bangkok, Thailand.
2COVID-19 Network Investigations Alliance (CONI), Bangkok, Thailand.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021 Jun 25;105(2):421-424. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.21-0344.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand implemented a quarantine program at approved quarantine facilities for every international traveler. Here, we report an epidemiological and genomic investigation of a COVID-19 cluster consisting of seven healthcare workers (HCWs) at a quarantine facility and its partnered hospital in Thailand. Outbreak investigations were implemented to obtain contact tracing data and to establish chains of transmission. Genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 with samples within the cohort was performed. Investigations of 951 HCWs and staff with quarantined travelers were implemented to determine the chain of transmission. Genomic and outbreak investigations identified the international travelers infected with the B.1.1.31 SARS-CoV-2 lineage as the source of this outbreak. The genomic data and the investigated timeline revealed a putative transmission chain among HCWs, pointing toward the transmission via the use of common living quarters at the investigated quarantine site. The evaluation of this cohort has led to a policy recommendation on quarantine facility management. International travel quarantine is an important strategy to contain importation of COVID-19 cases. However, a quarantine facility is likely to become a potential hotspot, requiring thorough preventive measures. Reducing the exposure risk by providing private living quarters and scheduling clinical duties at a quarantine site separated from the conventional healthcare workforce have been implemented.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间,泰国为每一位国际旅行者在指定的隔离设施实施了隔离计划。在这里,我们报告了一起发生在泰国一家隔离设施及其合作医院的由 7 名医护人员(HCWs)组成的 COVID-19 集群的流行病学和基因组调查。实施了暴发调查以获取接触者追踪数据并建立传播链。对队列内的 SARS-CoV-2 样本进行了基因组测序。对与隔离旅客有接触的 951 名 HCWs 和工作人员进行了调查,以确定传播链。基因组和暴发调查确定了感染 B.1.1.31 SARS-CoV-2 谱系的国际旅行者是此次暴发的源头。基因组数据和调查时间线揭示了隔离点 HCWs 之间的潜在传播链,表明传播途径可能是使用隔离点的共同起居区。对该队列的评估导致了对隔离设施管理的政策建议。国际旅行检疫是控制 COVID-19 病例输入的重要策略。然而,隔离设施可能成为一个潜在的热点,需要采取彻底的预防措施。已经实施了减少接触风险的措施,包括提供私人起居区和在与常规医疗保健人员分开的隔离点安排临床职责。
Medicine (Baltimore). 2022-9-23