1887
  1. Home
  2. Eurosurveillance
  3. Volume 26, Issue 10, 11/Mar/2021
  4. Article
Research Open Access
Like 0
Download

Abstract

Introduction

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) managed the exchange of cross-border contact tracing data between public health authorities (PHA) in Germany and abroad during the early COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim

We describe the extent of cross-border contact tracing and its challenges.

Methods

We analysed cross-border COVID-19 contact tracing events from 3 February to 5 April 2020 using information exchanged through the European Early Warning Response System and communication with International Health Regulation national focal points. We described events by PHA, number of contacts and exposure context.

Results

The RKI processed 467 events, initiating contact to PHA 1,099 times (median = 1; interquartile range (IQR): 1–2) and sharing data on 5,099 contact persons. Of 327 (70%) events with known exposure context, the most commonly reported exposures were aircraft (n = 64; 20%), cruise ships (n = 24; 7%) and non-transport contexts (n = 210; 64%). Cruise ship and aircraft exposures generated more contacts with authorities (median = 10; IQR: 2–16, median = 4; IQR: 2–11) and more contact persons (median = 60; IQR: 9–269, median = 2; IQR: 1–3) than non-transport exposures (median = 1; IQR: 1–6 and median = 1; IQR: 1–2). The median time spent on contact tracing was highest for cruise ships: 5 days (IQR: 3–9).

Conclusion

In the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-border contact tracing is considered a critical component of the outbreak response. While only a minority of international contact tracing activities were related to exposure events in transport, they contributed substantially to the workload. The numerous communications highlight the need for fast and efficient global outbreak communication channels between PHA.

© Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.10.2001236
2021-03-11
2024-11-07
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.10.2001236
Loading
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/eurosurveillance/26/10/eurosurv-26-10-3.html?itemId=/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.10.2001236&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. World Health Organization (WHO). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation report – 72. Geneva: WHO: 1 Apr 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200401-sitrep-72-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=3dd8971b_2
  2. Hellewell J, Abbott S, Gimma A, Bosse NI, Jarvis CI, Russell TW, et al. Feasibility of controlling COVID-19 outbreaks by isolation of cases and contacts. Lancet Glob Health. 2020;8(4):e488-96.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30074-7  PMID: 32119825 
  3. World Health Organization (WHO). International Health Regulations (2005). 3rd ed. Geneva: WHO; 2016. Available from: https://www.who.int/ihr/publications/9789241580496/en
  4. European Commission. Decision No 1082/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 on serious cross-border threats to health and repealing Decision No 2119/98/EC. Official Journal of the European Union. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. 5 Nov 2013:L 293/1. Available from: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32013D1082
  5. Böhmer MM, Buchholz U, Corman VM, Hoch M, Katz K, Marosevic DV, et al. Investigation of a COVID-19 outbreak in Germany resulting from a single travel-associated primary case: a case series. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20(8):920-8.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30314-5  PMID: 32422201 
  6. European Commission. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation). Official Journal of the European Communities, L 119/1, 4 May 2016. Available from: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016R0679
  7. Faensen D, Claus H, Benzler J, Ammon A, Pfoch T, Breuer T, et al. SurvNet@RKI - a multistate electronic reporting system for communicable diseases. Euro Surveill. 2006;11(4):7-8.  https://doi.org/10.2807/esm.11.04.00614-en  PMID: 29208145 
  8. Robert Koch Institute. COVID-19: Jetzt handeln, vorausschauend planen Strategie – Ergänzung zu empfohlenen Infektionsschutzmaßnahmen und Zielen (2. Update). [COVID-19: Act now, plan ahead strategy - addition to the recommended infection control measures and targets]. Epidemiologisches Bulletin. 2020;12:3-6. Available from: https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/Infekt/EpidBull/Archiv/2020/12/Art_01.html
  9. World Health Organization (WHO). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation report – 87. Geneva: WHO; 16 Apr 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200416-sitrep-87-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=9523115a_2
  10. Linton NM, Kobayashi T, Yang Y, Hayashi K, Akhmetzhanov AR, Jung SM, et al. Incubation period and other epidemiological characteristics of 2019 novel coronavirus infections with right truncation: a statistical analysis of publicly available case data. J Clin Med. 2020;9(2):E538.  https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9020538  PMID: 32079150 
  11. World Health Organization (WHO). Report of the WHO-China joint mission on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Geneva: WHO); 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/report-of-the-who-china-joint-mission-on-coronavirus-disease-2019-(covid-19)
  12. Zhao S, Zhuang Z, Ran J, Lin J, Yang G, Yang L, et al. The association between domestic train transportation and novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China from 2019 to 2020: A data-driven correlational report. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2020;33:101568.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101568  PMID: 32006656 
  13. Zheng R, Xu Y, Wang W, Ning G, Bi Y. Spatial transmission of COVID-19 via public and private transportation in China. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2020;34:101626.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101626  PMID: 32184132 
  14. Cartenì A, Di Francesco L, Martino M. The role of transport accessibility within the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic in Italy. Saf Sci. 2021;133:104999.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2020.104999  PMID: 32952302 
  15. Hertzberg VS, Weiss H, Elon L, Si W, Norris SL, FlyHealthy Research Team. Behaviors, movements, and transmission of droplet-mediated respiratory diseases during transcontinental airline flights. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2018;115(14):3623-7.  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1711611115  PMID: 29555754 
  16. Jost M, Luzi D, Metzler S, Miran B, Mutsch M. Measles associated with international travel in the region of the Americas, Australia and Europe, 2001-2013: a systematic review. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2015;13(1):10-8.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2014.10.022  PMID: 25468523 
  17. Olsen SJ, Chang HL, Cheung TY, Tang AF, Fisk TL, Ooi SP, et al. Transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome on aircraft. N Engl J Med. 2003;349(25):2416-22.  https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa031349  PMID: 14681507 
  18. Seidel J, Matysiak-Klose D, Jeglitza M, Litzba N. Letter to the editor: Pending challenges in passenger contact tracing in air transport - a German perspective. Euro Surveill. 2019;24(32):1900498
  19. Chu DK, Akl EA, Duda S, Solo K, Yaacoub S, Schünemann HJ, et al. Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2020;395(10242):1973-87.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31142-9  PMID: 32497510 
  20. Yang N, Shen Y, Shi C, Ma AHY, Zhang X, Jian X, et al. In-flight transmission cluster of COVID-19: a retrospective case series. Infect Dis (Lond). 2020;52(12):891-901.  https://doi.org/10.1080/23744235.2020.1800814  PMID: 32735163 
  21. Eldin C, Lagier JC, Mailhe M, Gautret P. Probable aircraft transmission of Covid-19 in-flight from the Central African Republic to France. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2020;35:101643.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101643  PMID: 32247016 
  22. Bae SH, Shin H, Koo H-Y, Lee SW, Yang JM, Yon DK. Asymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 on evacuation flight. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020;26(11):2705-8.  https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2611.203353  PMID: 32822289 
  23. Hoehl S, Karaca O, Kohmer N, Westhaus S, Graf J, Goetsch U, et al. Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 transmission on an international flight and among a tourist group. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(8):e2018044.  https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.18044 
  24. Russell TW, Hellewell J, Jarvis CI, van Zandvoort K, Abbott S, Ratnayake R, et al. Estimating the infection and case fatality ratio for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) using age-adjusted data from the outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, February 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(12):2000256.  https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.12.2000256  PMID: 32234121 
  25. Mizumoto K, Kagaya K, Zarebski A, Chowell G. Estimating the asymptomatic proportion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, Yokohama, Japan, 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(10):2000180.  https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.10.2000180  PMID: 32183930 
  26. Moriarty LF, Plucinski MM, Marston BJ, Kurbatova EV, Knust B, Murray EL, et al. Public health responses to COVID-19 outbreaks on cruise ships - worldwide, February-March 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(12):347-52.  https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6912e3  PMID: 32214086 
COVID-19: cross-border contact tracing in Germany, February to April 2020
<p class="citation"> <span>Citation style for this article:</span> <span class="meta-value authors"> <a href="/search?value1=Inessa+Markus&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Markus Inessa</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Gyde+Steffen&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Steffen Gyde</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Raskit+Lachmann&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Lachmann Raskit</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Adine+Marquis&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Marquis Adine</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Timm+Schneider&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Schneider Timm</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Sara+Tomczyk&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Tomczyk Sara</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Uwe+Koppe&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Koppe Uwe</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Anna+M+Rohde&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Rohde Anna M</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Susanne+Barbara+Schink&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Schink Susanne Barbara</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Janna+Seifried&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Seifried Janna</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Teresa+Domaszewska&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Domaszewska Teresa</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Ute+Rexroth&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Rexroth Ute</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Maria+an+der+Heiden&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">an der Heiden Maria</a></span>. COVID-19: cross-border contact tracing in Germany, February to April 2020. <a href="/content/ecdc">Euro Surveill.</a> 2021;26(10):pii=2001236. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.10.2001236" title="doi link" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.10.2001236</a> <span class="ES_Article_citation"> <span class="generated">Received</span>: 18 Jun 2020;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="generated">Accepted</span>: 19 Nov 2020 </span> </p>
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.10.2001236
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.10.2001236
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Submit comment
Close
Comment moderation successfully completed
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error