1. Prospective Surveillance of Respiratory Infections in British Antarctic Survey Bases During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- Author
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Ganly KH, Bowyer JC, Bird PW, Willford NJ, Shaw J, Odedra M, Osborn G, Everett T, Warner M, Horne S, Dinn M, McMurray CL, Holmes CW, Koo SSF, and Tang JW
- Subjects
- Humans, Pandemics, SARS-CoV-2, Prospective Studies, Antarctic Regions, Surveys and Questionnaires, COVID-19 epidemiology, Respiratory Tract Infections, Viruses, Adenoviridae Infections, Paramyxoviridae Infections epidemiology
- Abstract
Background: The British Antarctic bases offer a semiclosed environment for assessing the transmission and persistence of seasonal respiratory viruses., Methods: Weekly swabbing was performed for respiratory pathogen surveillance (including SARS-CoV-2), at 2 British Antarctic Survey bases, during 2020: King Edward Point (KEP, 30 June to 29 September, 9 participants, 124 swabs) and Rothera (9 May to 6 June, 27 participants, 127 swabs). Symptom questionnaires were collected for any newly symptomatic cases that presented during this weekly swabbing period., Results: At KEP, swabs tested positive for non-SARS-CoV-2 seasonal coronavirus (2), adenovirus (1), parainfluenza 3 (1), and respiratory syncytial virus B (1). At Rothera, swabs tested positive for non-SARS-CoV-2 seasonal coronavirus (3), adenovirus (2), parainfluenza 4 (1), and human metapneumovirus (1). All bacterial agents identified were considered to be colonizers and not pathogenic., Conclusions: At KEP, the timeline indicated that the parainfluenza 3 and adenovirus infections could have been linked to some of the symptomatic cases that presented. For the other viruses, the only other possible sources were the visiting ship crew members. At Rothera, the single symptomatic case presented too early for this to be linked to the subsequent viral detections, and the only other possible source could have been a single nonparticipating staff member., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. The authors: No reported conflicts of interest. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2022
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