tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Public Health
. 2020 May 30;185:31-33.
doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2020.05.043. Online ahead of print.
A Three-Generation Family Cluster With COVID-19 Infection: Should Quarantine Be Prolonged?
M-C Yang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], P-P ****[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Y-K Wu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], M-Y Peng[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Y-C Chao[SUP] 4 [/SUP], W-L Su[SUP] 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Objectives: Families are a transmission route for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) because of the close contact. Monitoring of the viral load will be a valuable method to reduce the optimal number of quarantine days, especially in presymptomatic and symptomatic carriers of their households. The traditional three-generation families living together are seen frequently in East Asia, including in Taiwan.
Study design: We report on a family cluster with six individuals infected with coronavirus disease in Taiwan.
Methods: The current public policy in Taiwan is quarantine for at least 14 days, based on the incubation period, or until the patient has tested negative three days in a row using the SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Details on the onset date of clinical symptoms, throat swab conversion, and course of disease were collected from medical records retrospectively.
Results: In the household of this three-generation Taiwanese family, the infection rate was 60%. The ratio of males to females was 4:2, and the age range was 11-85 years. The prevalence of asymptomatic disease was 33.3% (2/6). The longest throat swab conversion time was 37 days, and the estimated course of disease from symptoms to first conversion of throat swab was 59 days.
Conclusions: Large families, including three-generation families in a single dwelling, should be monitored when the index case is found. Presymptomatic and symptomatic family members could be quarantined for an appropriate duration which, in our experience, is 2 months.
Keywords: COVID-19; Family cluster; Prolonged quarantine; SARS-CoV-2.
. 2020 May 30;185:31-33.
doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2020.05.043. Online ahead of print.
A Three-Generation Family Cluster With COVID-19 Infection: Should Quarantine Be Prolonged?
M-C Yang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], P-P ****[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Y-K Wu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], M-Y Peng[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Y-C Chao[SUP] 4 [/SUP], W-L Su[SUP] 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32526560
- DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2020.05.043
Abstract
Objectives: Families are a transmission route for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) because of the close contact. Monitoring of the viral load will be a valuable method to reduce the optimal number of quarantine days, especially in presymptomatic and symptomatic carriers of their households. The traditional three-generation families living together are seen frequently in East Asia, including in Taiwan.
Study design: We report on a family cluster with six individuals infected with coronavirus disease in Taiwan.
Methods: The current public policy in Taiwan is quarantine for at least 14 days, based on the incubation period, or until the patient has tested negative three days in a row using the SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Details on the onset date of clinical symptoms, throat swab conversion, and course of disease were collected from medical records retrospectively.
Results: In the household of this three-generation Taiwanese family, the infection rate was 60%. The ratio of males to females was 4:2, and the age range was 11-85 years. The prevalence of asymptomatic disease was 33.3% (2/6). The longest throat swab conversion time was 37 days, and the estimated course of disease from symptoms to first conversion of throat swab was 59 days.
Conclusions: Large families, including three-generation families in a single dwelling, should be monitored when the index case is found. Presymptomatic and symptomatic family members could be quarantined for an appropriate duration which, in our experience, is 2 months.
Keywords: COVID-19; Family cluster; Prolonged quarantine; SARS-CoV-2.