What is it about?
In winter 2018, schools in Hong Kong were closed 1 week before the scheduled Chinese New Year holiday to mitigate an influenza B virus epidemic. The intervention occurred after the epidemic peak and reduced overall incidence by ≈4.2%. School-based vaccination programs should be implemented to more effectively reduce influenza illnesses.
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Why is it important?
Closure after the epidemic peak had a small effect on transmission; we estimated a 4.2% reduction in overall incidence of infections.
Perspectives
Great pleasure to be part of this project of long ongoing collaborations. The school closure is always an handy alternative to pharmaceutical intervention for influenza epidemic to reduce its transmissibility. But the implication of such NPI is not always free from the criticism for its lack of quantitative evaluation of the choice. of timing and duration. The socio-economic impact of such NPI to be evaluated simultaneously. This work directs the question to be answered: when will a epidemic arrives its peak? and to assess the closure timings for best strategies.
Dr. Sheikh Taslim Ali
University of Hong Kong
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Mitigation of Influenza B Epidemic with School Closures, Hong Kong, 2018, Emerging Infectious Diseases, November 2018, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
DOI: 10.3201/eid2411.180612.
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