tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Open Forum Infect Dis
. 2020 Oct 23;7(11)
faa511.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa511. eCollection 2020 Nov.
Precipitous Fall in Common Respiratory Viral Infections During COVID-19
Michael F Parry[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Asha K Shah[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Merima Sestovic[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Selma Salter[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
In the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we were surprised to find that all other respiratory viral infections fell precipitously. The difference in respiratory viral infections during the 16-week period of our peak COVID-19 activity in 2020 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weeks 14-29) was significantly lower than during the same period in the previous 4 years (a total of 4 infections vs an average of 138 infections; P < .0001). We attribute this to widespread use of public health interventions including wearing face masks, social distancing, hand hygiene, and stay-at-home orders. As these interventions are usually ignored by the community during most influenza seasons, we anticipate that their continued use during the upcoming winter season could substantially blunt the case load of influenza and other respiratory viral infections.
Keywords: COVID-19; public health response; respiratory infections.
. 2020 Oct 23;7(11)
faa511.doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa511. eCollection 2020 Nov.
Precipitous Fall in Common Respiratory Viral Infections During COVID-19
Michael F Parry[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Asha K Shah[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Merima Sestovic[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Selma Salter[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33269297
- PMCID: PMC7665739
- DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa511
Abstract
In the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we were surprised to find that all other respiratory viral infections fell precipitously. The difference in respiratory viral infections during the 16-week period of our peak COVID-19 activity in 2020 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weeks 14-29) was significantly lower than during the same period in the previous 4 years (a total of 4 infections vs an average of 138 infections; P < .0001). We attribute this to widespread use of public health interventions including wearing face masks, social distancing, hand hygiene, and stay-at-home orders. As these interventions are usually ignored by the community during most influenza seasons, we anticipate that their continued use during the upcoming winter season could substantially blunt the case load of influenza and other respiratory viral infections.
Keywords: COVID-19; public health response; respiratory infections.