In a recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv*, researchers explored the effect of non-pharmaceutical prevention measures related to the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the transmission of 22 infectious diseases in England.
Efforts to involve transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in the early days of the pandemic before the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines consisted of government-initiated lockdowns, mask wearing, and social distancing measures. Public Fitness communications also strongly encouraged hand washing.
Studies recommend that, in addition to restricting transmission of SARS-CoV-2, those measures may have only affected airborne or fecal-oral transmission of other pathogens.
In the existing study, researchers used knowledge from 3 resources – the UK Health Security Agency, the Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre and the UK Office for National Statistics – to analyse transmission patterns of 22 pathogens. England the COVID-19 pandemic.
It investigated the transmission of diseases that spread through aerosol droplets, direct contact, blood, vectors and the fecal-oral route. Airborne illnesses included chickenpox, measles, mumps, rubella, tuberculosis, influenza, pneumococcal disease, whooping cough, strep throat, and scarlet fever. .
Herpes simplex virus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), urinary tract infections, and infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissue were the diseases studied that spread by direct contact. Infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissue come with cellulitis, folliculitis, abscesses, trauma-related infections. , and other necrotizing or direct subcutaneous skin and fat situations leading to erythema, inflammation and pain.
Fecal-oral transmitted diseases include hepatitis E, norovirus, shigellosis, cryptosporidiosis, intestinal infectious diseases, and foodborne illnesses. abdominal pain and vomiting. The vector-borne disease evaluated in the study was Lyme disease, while the bloodborne disease was hepatitis C.
The transmission patterns of those pathogens were tested according to COVID-19 preventive measures implemented between March 2020 and February 2022 in the UK. The key measures come with the initial and momentary lockdowns, which began on March 23 and November 5, 2020, respectively. Also included in the study were the first vaccination control and the third confinement, which took place the following days (4 and 5 January 2021).
The results showed a reduction in cases of all infectious diseases except MRSA, Lyme disease and hepatitis E after the first shutdown. The authors that, since MRSA occurs primarily in hospitals, the accumulation of MRSA cases during the accumulation in hospitalizations during COVID-19 made sense.
While cases of Lyme disease did not show a marked minimum during the first lockdown, the number of cases has reduced the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine out of 10 airborne illnesses and four out of six fecal-oral illnesses showed significant relief in cases from the moment preventive measures against COVID-19 were implemented. TB was the exception in airborne diseases, which the authors said can only be explained by late diagnosis closures or co-infections of TB with COVID-19.
Despite considerations that discontinuation of the vaccination regimen would lead to a resurgence of vaccine-preventable infections, diseases such as mumps, measles, rubella, pneumococcal disease, influenza and pertussis remained suppressed even after restrictions were lifted. as scarlet fever, strep throat and chickenpox (vaccine not provided in the UK) showed an increase after COVID-19 preventive measures were stopped.
With decreased human interaction and blockages resulting in reduced exposure to the environment and non-unusual pathogens, concerns have been expressed about the spread of disease outbreaks due to reduced overall immunity. However, the study reported that only 4 of the 22 diseases tested showed an accumulation in transmission beyond pre-COVID-19 levels. These involved chickenpox, skin and subcutaneous infections, herpes simplex and intestinal infectious diseases.
Overall, the study indicated that non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 mitigation methods, such as lockdowns, social distancing, and handwashing, reduced the spread of other infectious pathogens, namely those transmitted in the form of aerosol droplets and the fecal-oral route.
Lack of exposure to non-unusual pathogen closures and other social distancing measures did not decrease overall immunity and did not lead to outbreaks after those measures were suspended, with the exception of chickenpox, herpes simplex, and skin and intestinal infections. However, whether the building in the occurrence of those 4 diseases is similar to COVID-19 measures has not been studied.
Vaccine-preventable diseases remained suppressed even after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. However, diseases such as chickenpox have increased, highlighting the need to integrate chickenpox vaccines into the regime’s vaccination programme in the UK.
medRxiv publishes initial clinical reports that are not peer-reviewed and therefore are not considered conclusive clinical practices of consultants/health-related behaviors, nor are they treated as established information.
Written By
Chinta Sidharthan is a Bangalore-based India. Su academic background is in evolutionary biology and genetics, and has extensive experience in clinical studies, teaching, clinical writing and herpetology. Chinta holds a PhD in evolutionary biology from the Indian Institute of Science and is passionate about science education, writing, animals, wildlife and conservation. For his doctoral studies, he explored the origins and diversification of blind snakes in India, where he conducted extensive fieldwork in the jungles of southern India. He has won the Governor General Bronze Medal and Gold Medal for Academic Excellence award from the University of Bangalore and has published his studies in high-impact journals.
Use one of the following to cite this article in your essay, article, or report:
ap
Sidharthan, Chinta. (2022, 25 October). Have COVID-19 mitigation measures in the UK had an effect on the transmission of other infectious diseases?Retrieved 31 October 2022 from https://www. news-medical. net/news/20221025/Did-COVID -19-mitigation-measures-in-the-UK-have-one-effect-on-the-transmission-of-other-infectious diseases. aspx.
deputy
Sidharthan, Chinta. ” Have COVID-19 mitigation measures in the UK had an effect on the transmission of other infectious diseases?”News-Medical. October 31, 2022.
Chicago
Sidharthan, Chinta. ” Have COVID-19 mitigation measures in the UK had an effect on the transmission of other infectious diseases?”Medical News. https://www. news-medical. net/news/20221025/Did- COVID-19-mitigation-measures-in-the-United-Kingdom-have an effect on-the-transmission-of-other-infectious-diseases. aspx. (accessed October 31, 2022).
Harvard
Sidharthan, Chinta. 2022. Have COVID-19 mitigation measures in the UK affected infectious disease transmission?-COVID-19-mitigation-measures-in-the-United-Kingdom-impact-the-transmission-of-infectious-diseases. aspx.
News-Medical. net – An AZoNetwork website
Owned and operated through AZoNetwork, © 2000-2022