Terada-Hirashima Junko, Sugiura Wataru, Shimizu Yosuke, Tanaka Yurika, Uemura Yukari, Ishikane Masahiro, Kazuyama Yukumasa, Ikeda Masato, Wakabayashi Kazuhiko, Ohmagari Norio, Kimura Moto
Department of Clinical Research Promotion, Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Glob Health Med. 2022 Jun 30;4(3):174-179. doi: 10.35772/ghm.2022.01008.
Preventing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks and the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from urban areas to less-populated remote islands, many of which may have weak medical systems, is an important issue. Here, we evaluated the usefulness of pre-boarding, saliva-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening tests to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 from Tokyo to the remote island of Chichijima. The infection rate on the island during the study period from September 1, 2020 to March 21, 2021 was 0.015% (2/13,446). Of the 8,910 individuals tested before ship boarding, seven tested positive for COVID-19 (PCR tests of saliva samples). One was confirmed positive by subsequent confirmatory nasopharyngeal swab testing. Based on the testing results, positive cases were denied entry onto the ship to prevent the spread of COVID-19 from Tokyo to Chichijima. This study demonstrated that implementing pre-boarding PCR screening tests is a useful strategy that can be applied to other remote islands with vulnerable medical systems.
防止冠状病毒病（COVID-19）爆发以及严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）从城市地区传播到人口较少的偏远岛屿是一个重要问题，其中许多岛屿的医疗系统可能较为薄弱。在此，我们评估了登船前基于唾液的聚合酶链反应（PCR）筛查测试对于防止SARS-CoV-2从东京传播到父岛列岛的有效性。在2020年9月1日至2021年3月21日的研究期间，该岛屿的感染率为0.015%（2/13446）。在8910名登船前接受检测的人员中，7人COVID-19检测呈阳性（唾液样本PCR检测）。其中1人经后续的鼻咽拭子确诊检测确认为阳性。基于检测结果，阳性病例被禁止登船，以防止COVID-19从东京传播到父岛列岛。本研究表明，实施登船前PCR筛查测试是一种有用的策略，可应用于其他医疗系统脆弱的偏远岛屿。
