1.Roadmap Out of COVID-19
Thor J ; Pagkaliwagan E ; Yeo A ; Loh J ; Kon C
Malaysian Orthopaedic Journal 2020;14(No.3):4-9
The recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared as
a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation
on 30th January 2020, and has now affected more than 100
countries. Healthcare institutions and governments
worldwide have raced to contain the disease, albeit to
varying degrees of success. Containment strategies adopted
range from complete lockdowns to remaining open with
public advisories regarding social distancing. However,
general principles adopted by most countries remain the
same, mainly to avoid gatherings in large numbers and limit
social interactions to curb the spread of disease. In
Singapore, this disease had a very different progression. The
first wave of the disease started with the confirmation of the
first COVID-19 positive patient in Singapore on 23rd
January 2020. Initially, the daily number of confirmed cases
were low and manageable. With a rise in unlinked cases, the
Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON)
status was raised from yellow to orange. New cluster
outbreaks in foreign worker dormitories led to the rampant
spread of disease, with daily spikes of COVID-19 cases. As
of 7th June 2020, we have a total of 37,910 confirmed cases
of COVID-19 infections, the highest in Southeast Asia,
12,999 active cases and a manageable mortality count of 25
deaths. This details our unique method for dealing with a
pandemic, including a brief demographic of trauma patients
during this period. We were able to conserve sufficient
resources to ensure that our essential services can still
continue. Moving on, we have to ensure the continued
protection of our population, especially the vulnerable
groups such as the elderly and the immunocompromised, as
we reopen.
2.Dengue-like illness surveillance: a two-year longitudinal survey in suburban and rural communities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and in Thailand
Nanthasane Vannavong ; Razak Seidu ; Thor Axel Stenströ ; m ; Nsa Dada ; Hans Jø ; rgen Overgaard
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response 2019;10(1):15-24
Objective:
This study aimed to determine the incidences of dengue-like illness (DLI), dengue virus (DENV) infection, and serotypes and to identify socio-demographical and entomological risk factors of DLI in selected suburban and rural communities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and in Thailand.
Methods:
A two-year longitudinal study was conducted in four villages during the inter-epidemic period between 2011 and 2013. Entomological surveys, semi-structured interviews of household heads and observations were conducted. Occurrences of DLI were recorded weekly using the World Health Organization’s dengue definition along with blood samples; results were compared with national surveillance dengue data. Risk factors of DLI were assessed using logistic regression.
Result:
Among the 2007 people in the study, 83 DLI cases were reported: 69 in suburban Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 11 in rural Thailand, three in rural Lao People’s Democratic Republic and none in suburban Thailand. Four were confirmed DENV: two from suburban Lao People’s Democratic Republic (both DENV-1) and two from rural Thailand (both DENV-2). Although the number of detected DLIs during the study period was low, DLI incidence was higher in the study compared to the dengue surveillance data in both countries. DLI in suburban Lao People’s Democratic Republic was associated with age and occupation, but not with the number of pupae per person.
Discussion
This study highlights the importance of continuous clinical and vector surveillance for dengue to improve early detection of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases in the region.