Impact of COVID-19 on testing, positive cases, patient characteristics, and hospital contacts for respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and pneumococcus in Danish children.
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Respiratory infections substantially impact pediatric health. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced widespread non-pharmaceutical interventions, which influenced the incidence of common respiratory infections. This comprehensive study investigates the impact of these interventions on the incidence of respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and invasive pneumococcal disease in Danish children.
Methods: We conducted a descriptive study based on a cohort of 1,790,464 Danish children from 2012 to 2022. We analyzed data from microbiology tests and hospital contacts to assess infection rates and testing patterns before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The relationships between testing and sex, age groups, chronic disease status, and hospital contacts were analyzed.
Results: We observed a marked decrease in cases of respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and pneumococcus disease during the lockdown period. Once restrictions were lifted, there was a substantial resurgence in these infections. The frequency of testing for respiratory pathogens increased over time, with a rising proportion of healthy individuals without underlying chronic disease being tested. The proportion of positive tests linked to hospital contacts varied: there was a notable decline for respiratory syncytial virus and influenza post-lockdown, while pneumococcus cases continued to be strongly linked to hospital contacts.
Conclusion: The study highlights the impact of COVID-19 interventions on the epidemiology of pediatric respiratory infections, revealing a pattern of decreased incidence during lockdowns followed by a resurgence. More tests were carried out among an increasing proportion of healthy individuals. Such changes in testing practices and changing characteristics of tested populations have implications for understanding post-pandemic infection trends and healthcare resource allocation.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Infection and Public Health, first official journal of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and the Saudi Association for Public Health, aims to be the foremost scientific, peer-reviewed journal encompassing infection prevention and control, microbiology, infectious diseases, public health and the application of healthcare epidemiology to the evaluation of health outcomes. The point of view of the journal is that infection and public health are closely intertwined and that advances in one area will have positive consequences on the other.
The journal will be useful to all health professionals who are partners in the management of patients with communicable diseases, keeping them up to date. The journal is proud to have an international and diverse editorial board that will assist and facilitate the publication of articles that reflect a global view on infection control and public health, as well as emphasizing our focus on supporting the needs of public health practitioners.
It is our aim to improve healthcare by reducing risk of infection and related adverse outcomes by critical review, selection, and dissemination of new and relevant information in the field of infection control, public health and infectious diseases in all healthcare settings and the community.
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