[ad_1]
Controls for temperature and other symptoms to detect cases of COVID-19, such as those implemented in schools and clinics, have again proved insufficient for detecting coronavirus infections and preventing outbreaks.
According to a study conducted with US Marine Corps recruits, despite the aforementioned checks and strict quarantines prior to starting training, the recruits passed on the virus even when hardly anyone was showing symptoms. No contagion was detected by examining the symptoms.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has implications for colleges, prisons, meat processing plants and other places that rely on these types of controls to detect infections and prevent epidemics.
“We’ve spent a lot of time doing these kinds of measures and it might not be worth it as expected,” said Jodie Guest, a public health researcher at Emory University in Atlanta, who didn’t participate in the study.
“Routine diagnostic tests appear to be best for this age group,” as young adults often have no symptoms, he said.
The study was led by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and the Naval Center for Medical Research.
The study looked at 1,848 recruits, 90 percent of whom were men, who were instructed to self-isolate at home for two weeks, then quarantined for another two weeks under military supervision on a closed university campus – the Citadel. , in Charleston. , Caroline from the south. That confinement included having only one roommate, wearing masks, keeping a distance of at least 6 feet (1.80 meters), and doing most of the outdoor training. Checks for temperature and other symptoms were done daily.
The recruits were tested for coronavirus when they reached their military quarantine, as well as seven and 14 days later. Sixteen of them, about 1%, tested positive on arrival and only one showed symptoms. Another 35, or 2%, tested positive during the two weeks of military quarantine and only four showed symptoms.
Only recruits who tested negative at the end of the two quarantine periods were allowed to go to Parris Island for basic training.
Genetic testing revealed six outbreaks among the recruits.
“A lot of infections happening, we don’t even realize they’re happening,” said one of the leaders of the study, Navy Commander Andrew Letizia, a naval center doctor. Medical research.
The quarantine and enforcement measures were stricter than those applied on a typical college campus, said another study official, Dr Stuart Sealfon of Mount Sinai Hospital.
“It really is an infectious virus. You really have to combine good public health measures, temperature controls, use of masks, social distancing, hand washing… and thorough exams ”to prevent a spread, he added.
[ad_2]
Source link
