1. Resurgence of SARS-CoV-2: Detection by community viral surveillance
- Author
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Riley, S., Ainslie, K.E.C., Eales, O., Walters, C.E., Wang, H., Atchison, C., Fronterre, C., Diggle, P.J., Ashby, D., Donnelly, C.A., Cooke, G., Barclay, W., Ward, H., Darzi, A., Elliott, P., Riley, S., Ainslie, K.E.C., Eales, O., Walters, C.E., Wang, H., Atchison, C., Fronterre, C., Diggle, P.J., Ashby, D., Donnelly, C.A., Cooke, G., Barclay, W., Ward, H., Darzi, A., and Elliott, P.
- Abstract
Surveillance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has mainly relied on case reporting, which is biased by health service performance, test availability, and test-seeking behaviors. We report a community-wide national representative surveillance program in England based on self-administered swab results from ~594,000 individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2, regardless of symptoms, between May and the beginning of September 2020. The epidemic declined between May and July 2020 but then increased gradually from mid-August, accelerating into early September 2020 at the start of the second wave. When compared with cases detected through routine surveillance, we report here a longer period of decline and a younger age distribution. Representative community sampling for SARS-CoV-2 can substantially improve situational awareness and feed into the public health response even at low prevalence.
- Published
- 2021