tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Pediatr Infect Dis J
. 2021 Sep 23.
doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003292. Online ahead of print.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 Cluster Originating in a Primary School Teachers' Room in Japan
Yuta Aizawa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yugo Shobugawa, Nobuko Tomiyama, Hitoshi Nakayama, Masako Takahashi, Junko Yanagiya, Noriko Kaji, Tatsuki Ikuse, Ryohei Izumita, Takayuki Yamanaka, Satoshi Hasegawa, Tsutomu Tamura, Reiko Saito, Akihiko Saitoh
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: School closures are a subject of debate during the present coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Because children are not the main driver of COVID-19 transmission in the community, school education must be prioritized in conjunction with appropriate infection prevention and control measures, as determined by local COVID-19 incidence.
Methods: We investigated the causes and transmission routes of a primary school cluster of COVID-19 that occurred during November and December 2020 in Niigata, Japan.
Results: In the cluster, the virus spread among teachers, then from teachers to students, and then to their family members. This primary school cluster comprised 26 infected patients and included teachers (13/33, 39%), students (9/211, 4%), and family members (4/65, 6%). The secondary attack rate from the 3 index teachers to the remaining 30 teachers was 33%; however, the rate to students was only 4%. Factors contributing to cluster formation include the fact that 2 of the index teachers continued working while symptomatic and that the environment and infection prevention measures in the teachers' room were inadequate.
Conclusions: To open schools safely and without interruption, adequate measures to prevent COVID-19 infection in schools should be emphasized not only for children but also for teachers and their environment.
. 2021 Sep 23.
doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003292. Online ahead of print.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 Cluster Originating in a Primary School Teachers' Room in Japan
Yuta Aizawa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yugo Shobugawa, Nobuko Tomiyama, Hitoshi Nakayama, Masako Takahashi, Junko Yanagiya, Noriko Kaji, Tatsuki Ikuse, Ryohei Izumita, Takayuki Yamanaka, Satoshi Hasegawa, Tsutomu Tamura, Reiko Saito, Akihiko Saitoh
Affiliations
- PMID: 34561385
- DOI: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003292
Abstract
Background: School closures are a subject of debate during the present coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Because children are not the main driver of COVID-19 transmission in the community, school education must be prioritized in conjunction with appropriate infection prevention and control measures, as determined by local COVID-19 incidence.
Methods: We investigated the causes and transmission routes of a primary school cluster of COVID-19 that occurred during November and December 2020 in Niigata, Japan.
Results: In the cluster, the virus spread among teachers, then from teachers to students, and then to their family members. This primary school cluster comprised 26 infected patients and included teachers (13/33, 39%), students (9/211, 4%), and family members (4/65, 6%). The secondary attack rate from the 3 index teachers to the remaining 30 teachers was 33%; however, the rate to students was only 4%. Factors contributing to cluster formation include the fact that 2 of the index teachers continued working while symptomatic and that the environment and infection prevention measures in the teachers' room were inadequate.
Conclusions: To open schools safely and without interruption, adequate measures to prevent COVID-19 infection in schools should be emphasized not only for children but also for teachers and their environment.