Optimizing SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance in the United States: Insights From the National Football League Occupational Health Program
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Daily COVID-19 testing in the NFL identified 2.4% of participants as positive. Routine RT-PCR enabled early detection, while antigen tests were less reliable for ruling out early infection.
Area Of Science
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Public Health Surveillance
- Diagnostic Test Evaluation
Background
- Limited evidence exists on effective strategies for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance and early detection.
- Large-scale testing programs are crucial for managing infectious disease outbreaks in closed populations.
Purpose Of The Study
- To describe the outcomes of a comprehensive COVID-19 testing and monitoring program within the U.S. National Football League (NFL).
- To evaluate the effectiveness of different testing platforms for early SARS-CoV-2 detection.
Main Methods
- A large-scale monitoring program involving daily testing of NFL players and staff.
- Utilized multiple testing platforms: RT-PCR (Roche cobas, Thermo Fisher QuantStudio), Hologic Panther, and antigen point-of-care (aPOC) tests (Quidel Sofia).
- Testing conducted across 32 NFL clubs in 24 states during the 2020 NFL season.
Main Results
- A total of 632,370 tests were administered to 11,668 individuals, identifying 270 (2.4%) COVID-19 cases.
- RT-PCR platforms demonstrated positive predictive values ranging from 73.0% to 82.0%.
- High cycle threshold (Ct) values (33-37) often indicated early infection; 22% of positive results had Ct values >35. Antigen POC tests yielded negative results in 42.3% of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Conclusions
- Routine RT-PCR testing facilitated early SARS-CoV-2 infection detection.
- Cycle threshold values served as a valuable indicator of infection stage.
- Antigen POC testing showed limitations in reliably ruling out early-stage COVID-19 infections.
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
Related Concept Videos
Disease surveillance is the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice. This process integrates data dissemination to entities responsible for preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. Surveillance systems provide crucial information for action, helping public health authorities make informed decisions to manage and prevent outbreaks, ensure public safety, optimize...
In the ever-evolving field of public health, statistical analysis serves as a cornerstone for understanding and managing disease outbreaks. By leveraging various statistical tools, health professionals can predict potential outbreaks, analyze ongoing situations, and devise effective responses to mitigate impact. For that to happen, there are a few possible stages of the analysis:
Predicting Outbreaks
Predictive analytics, a branch of statistics, uses historical data, algorithmic models, and...
Epidemiological data primarily involves information on specific populations' occurrence, distribution, and determinants of health and diseases. This data is crucial for understanding disease patterns and impacts, aiding public health decision-making and disease prevention strategies. The analysis of epidemiological data employs various statistical methods to interpret health-related data effectively. Here are some commonly used methods:
Descriptive Statistics: These provide basic...
Essential infection prevention measures are based on the knowledge of the infection chain, the modes of transmission in healthcare settings, and the use of the best practices in all healthcare settings. Compulsory public reporting of healthcare-associated infection rates is needed to allow individuals and the community to make informed choices regarding selecting a healthcare facility.
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
The sequence of removing or doffing PPE starts with the gloves, as they are the most contaminated. Next is removal of the face shield or goggles, as they would interfere with removing other PPE. Then remove the gown, followed by the mask or respirator. Perform hand hygiene between steps if hands become contaminated and immediately after removing all PPE. Generally, the outside front and sleeves of the isolation gown, the goggles or the mask, the respirator, and the face shield are contaminated.
Transmission-based precautions are for patients infected or suspected to be infected (or colonized) with organisms posing a significant risk to others. The transmission precautions include airborne and protective environment precautions.
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...