tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Emerg Infect Dis
. 2024 Nov;30(11):2343-2351.
doi: 10.3201/eid3011.240638.
SARS-CoV-2 Infection in School Settings, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, 2021-2022
Yoshihiro Takayama, Yusuke Shimakawa, Ryota Matsuyama, Gerardo Chowell, Ryosuke Omori, Tetsuharu Nagamoto, Taro Yamamoto, Kenji Mizumoto
During the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread school closures were implemented globally based on the assumption that transmission among children in the school environment is common. However, evidence regarding secondary infection rates by school type and level of contact is lacking. Our study estimated the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infection in school settings by examining the positivity rate according to school type and level of contact by using data from a large-scale school-based PCR project conducted in Okinawa, Japan, during 2021-2022. Our results indicate that, despite detection of numerous positive cases, the average number of secondary infections remained relatively low at ≈0.5 cases across all types of schools. Considering the profound effects of prolonged closures on educational access, balancing public health benefits against potential long-term effects on children is crucial.
Keywords: COVID-19; Japan; Okinawa Prefecture; SARS-CoV-2; educational loss; respiratory infections; school closure; school health; secondary infection; vaccine-preventable diseases; viruses; zoonoses.
. 2024 Nov;30(11):2343-2351.
doi: 10.3201/eid3011.240638.
SARS-CoV-2 Infection in School Settings, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, 2021-2022
Yoshihiro Takayama, Yusuke Shimakawa, Ryota Matsuyama, Gerardo Chowell, Ryosuke Omori, Tetsuharu Nagamoto, Taro Yamamoto, Kenji Mizumoto
- PMID: 39447162
- DOI: 10.3201/eid3011.240638
During the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread school closures were implemented globally based on the assumption that transmission among children in the school environment is common. However, evidence regarding secondary infection rates by school type and level of contact is lacking. Our study estimated the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infection in school settings by examining the positivity rate according to school type and level of contact by using data from a large-scale school-based PCR project conducted in Okinawa, Japan, during 2021-2022. Our results indicate that, despite detection of numerous positive cases, the average number of secondary infections remained relatively low at ≈0.5 cases across all types of schools. Considering the profound effects of prolonged closures on educational access, balancing public health benefits against potential long-term effects on children is crucial.
Keywords: COVID-19; Japan; Okinawa Prefecture; SARS-CoV-2; educational loss; respiratory infections; school closure; school health; secondary infection; vaccine-preventable diseases; viruses; zoonoses.