Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T22:48:19.829Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 1 - Early Detection, Response, and Surveillance of the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2024

By
Enrique M. Rabellino ,
Alexandra Smith  and
Marta C. Cohen
Edited by
Steven C. Schachter  and
Wade E. Bolton
Steven C. Schachter
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School
Wade E. Bolton
Affiliation:
VentureWell/Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx)
Get access

Summary

The aim of this chapter is to discuss the foundational knowledge of the occurrences, events, and disease manifestations that was developed during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the responses and measures that were undertaken to contain the disease. It emphasizes the importance of early intervention and the impact that timely action – or, in many cases, inaction – had on the development of this pandemic crisis. This chapter explores the role of data collection and the analysis mechanisms utilized in this pandemic to monitor disease spread in different geographies. The necessity of information derived from early disease vigilance and subsequent surveillance programs is stressed. The participation of the different stakeholders in the control and management of the pandemic is discussed as a function of synchronized intervention and effectiveness. This chronological account is intended to create a roadmap for future undertakings, programs, and decision-making processes by health and governmental authorities to be conducted at the earliest phases of future pandemics.

Keywords

early detectiondisease outbreak responsesurveillancezoonosespandemic preparednessviral transmissiondiesase outbreakSARS-CoV-2pandemic countermeasures
Type
Chapter
Information
Accelerating Diagnostics in a Time of Crisis
The Response to COVID-19 and a Roadmap for Future Pandemics
 , pp. 6 - 30
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Li, Q., Guan, X., Wu, P., et al., Early transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China, of novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia. N Engl J Med, 382, 13 (2020), 1199–1207.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xiang, N., Havers, F., Chen, T., et al., Use of national pneumonia surveillance to describe influenza A(H7N9) virus epidemiology, China, 2004–2013. Emerg Infect Dis, 19 (2013), 1784–1790.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Congressional Research Service, COVID-19 and China: A Chronology of Events (December 2019–January 2020). Updated May 13, 2020 (2020). https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/r/r46354 (accessed November 20, 2022).Google Scholar
Wikipedia, Wenliang, Li (2023). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Wenliang (accessed June 23, 2022).Google Scholar
Huang, K., World Health Organisation in touch with Beijing after mystery viral pneumonia outbreak, South China Morning Post (January 1, 2020). https://tinyurl.com/yup3a8rs (accessed June 14, 2023).Google Scholar
World Health Organization, Pneumonia cases in China’s Wuhan could be due to a new type of virus, WHO news article (January 9, 2020). https://tinyurl.com/4942ejhd (accessed February 7, 2020).Google Scholar
Khan, N., New virus discovered by Chinese scientists investigating pneumonia outbreak, The Wall Street Journal (January 8, 2020). https://tinyurl.com/5dve5nh4 (accessed February 8, 2020).Google Scholar
Zhang, Y. Z., Novel 2019 coronavirus genome, Virological (2020). https:/virological.org/t/novel-2019-coronavirus-genome-/319 (accessed June 23, 2022).Google Scholar
National Library of Medicine, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 isolate Wuhan-Hu-1, complete genome, National Library of Medicine (2022). www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/1798174254 (accessed June 23, 2022).Google Scholar
Wu, F., Zhao, S., Yu, B., et al., A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China. Nature, 579, 7798 (2020), 265–269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, Bulletin on the situation regarding viral pneumonia of unknown cause (January 5, 2020). http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/front/web/showDetail/2020010509020 (no longer available).Google Scholar
Chang, H. J., Estimation of basic reproduction number of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) during the outbreak in South Korea, 2015. Biomed Eng Online, 16, 1 (2017), 79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindstrøma, J. C., Engebretsen, S., Kristoffersen, A. B., et al., Increased transmissibility of the alpha SARS-CoV-2 variant: evidence from contact tracing data in Oslo, January to February 2021. Infect Dis (Lond), 54, 1 (2022), 72–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, Y. and Rocklöv, J., The reproductive number of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is far higher compared to the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 virus. J Travel Med, 28, 7 (2021), table 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gjorgjievska, M., Mehandziska, S., Stajkovska, A., et al., Case report: Omicron BA.2 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 outcompetes BA.1 in two co-infection cases. Front Genet, 13 (2022), 892682.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fan, Y., Li, X., Zhang, L., et al., SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant: recent progress and future perspectives. Sig Transduct Target Ther, 7, 1 (2022), 141.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Worobey, M., Pekar, J., Larsen, B. B., et al., The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in Europe and North America. Science, 3070, 6516 (2020), 564–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, S., Yang, J., Yang, W., Wang, W., and Barnighausen, T., COVID-19 control in China during mass population movements at New Year. Lancet (Lond), 395, 10226 (2020), 764–766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, J., Wuhan seafood market may not be source of novel virus spreading globally, Science Insider (January 26, 2020). https://tinyurl.com/mrxu6wd5 (accessed January 20, 2023).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Emergency Response Epidemiology Team, Vital surveillances: the epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) – China, 2020. China CDC Weekly, 2, 8 (2020), 113–122. https://doi.org/10.46234/ccdcw2020.032.Google Scholar
Kumar, S., Tao, O., Weaver, S., et al., An evolutionary portrait of the progenitor SARS-CoV-2 and its dominant offshoots in COVID-19 pandemic. Mol Biol Evol, 38, 8 (2021), 3046–3059.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jee, Y., WHO international health regulations emergency committee for the COVID-19 outbreak. Epidemiol Health, 42 (2020), e2020013.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, Main report and documents, The Independent Panel (2023). https://theindependentpanel.org/documents/ (accessed January 20, 2023).Google Scholar
National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Field briefing: Diamond Princess COVID-19 cases (2020). www.niid.go.jp/niid/en/2019-ncov-e/9407-covid-dp-fe-01.html (accessed January 20, 2023).Google Scholar
Chen, N., Zhou, M., Dong, X., et al., Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study. Lancet, 395, 10223 (2020), 507–513.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zach, H., Hanová, M., and Letkovičová, M., Distribution of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Europe during the first 12 peak weeks of the outbreak. Cent Eur J Public Health, 29, 1 (2021), 9–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chu, D. K., Akl, E. A., Duda, S., 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, 395, 10242 (2020), 1973–1987.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report – 53 (2020). https://tinyurl.com/2564hs7j (accessed January 20, 2023).Google Scholar
The White House, National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness (2021). https://tinyurl.com/ypeyuaju (accessed January 20, 2023).Google Scholar
Remuzzi, A. and Remuzzi, G., COVID-19 and Italy: what next? Lancet, 395, 10231 (2020), 1225–1228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Onder, G., Rezza, G., and Brusaferro, S., Case-fatality rate and characteristics of patients dying in relation to COVID-19 in Italy. JAMA, 323, 18 (2020), 1775–1776.Google ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization, Zoonoses (July 29, 2020). www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/zoonoses (accessed January 20, 2023).Google Scholar
Bloom, J. D., Recovery of deleted deep sequencing data sheds more light on the early Wuhan SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. Mol Biol Evol, 38, 12 (2021), 5211–5224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andersen, K. G., Rambaut, A., Lipkin, W. I., Homes, E. C., and Garry, R. F. The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2. Nat Med 2020, 26 (4): 450–452.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huang, C., Wang, U., Li, X., et al., Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet, 395, 10223 (2020), 497–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Worobey, M., Levy, J. I., Serrano, L. M., et al., The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Science, 377, 6609 (2022), 951–959.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goraichuk, I. V., Arefiev, V., Stegniy, B. T., Gerilovych, A. P., Zoonotic and reverse zoonotic transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2. Virus Res, 302 (2021), 198473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Munir, K., Ashraf, S., Munir, I., et al., Zoonotic and reverse zoonotic events of SARS-CoV-2 and their impact on global health. Emerg Microbes Infect, 9, 1 (2020), 2222–2235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization, Public health surveillance for Covid-19: interim guidance (July 22, 2022). https://tinyurl.com/2pakdfus (accessed January 20, 2023).Google Scholar
Carlson, C. J., Albery, G. F., Merow, C., et al., Climate change increases cross-species viral transmission risk. Nature, 607, 7919 (2022), 555–562.Google Scholar
Sachs, J. D., Abdool Karim, S. S., Aknin, L., et al., The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet, 400, 10359 (2022), 1224–1280.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kufferschmidt, B., “A completely new culture of doing research.” Coronavirus outbreak changes how scientists communicate (February 26, 2020). https://tinyurl.com/54zk68nu (accessed January 20, 2023).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choi, B. C. and Pak, A. W., Lessons for surveillance in the 21st century: a historical perspective from the past five millennia. Soz Präventivmed, 46, 6 (2001), 361–368.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karthikeyan, S., Levy, J. I., De Hoff, P., et al., Wastewater sequencing reveals early cryptic SARS-CoV-2 variant transmission. Nature, 609, 7925 (2022), 101–108.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bonanno Ferraro, G., Veneri, C., Mancini, P., et al., A state‑of‑the‑art scoping review on SARS‑CoV‑2 in sewage focusing on the potential of wastewater surveillance for the monitoring of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Food Environ Virol, 14, 4 (2022), 315–354.Google Scholar
Peeling, R. W., Heymann, D. L., Teo, Y. Y., and Garcia, P. J., Diagnostics for COVID-19: moving from pandemic response to control. Lancet, 399, 10326 (2022), 757–768.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, An evidence-based quest to protect human health (2023). https://theindependentpanel.org/ (accessed December 29, 2022).Google Scholar
Mahase, E., Covid-19: rich countries are putting “relationships with big pharma” ahead of ending pandemic, says Oxfam. BMJ, 373 (2021), n1342.Google ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×