Concomitant Marked Decline in Prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Other Respiratory Viruses Among Symptomatic Patients Following Public Health Interventions in Australia: Data from St Vincent's Hospital and Associated Screening Clinics, Sydney, NSW

Deborah Marriott; Rohan Beresford; Feras Mirdad; Damien Stark; Allan Glanville; Scott Chapman; Jock Harkness; Gregory J Dore; David Andresen; Gail V Matthews

doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa1256

Concomitant Marked Decline in Prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Other Respiratory Viruses Among Symptomatic Patients Following Public Health Interventions in Australia: Data from St Vincent's Hospital and Associated Screening Clinics, Sydney, NSW

Clin Infect Dis. 2021 May 18;72(10):e649-e651. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1256.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
² Concord Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
³ Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Abstract

Our Australian hospital tested almost 22 000 symptomatic people over 11 weeks for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Following travel bans and physical distancing, SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses diagnoses fell dramatically. Increasing rhinovirus diagnoses as social control measures were relaxed may indirectly indicate an elevated risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resurgence.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS CoV-2; influenza; public health; screening.

MeSH terms

Australia / epidemiology
COVID-19*
Hospitals
Humans
Prevalence
Public Health
SARS-CoV-2*