Travel-associated outbreak of COVID-19 in a departmental store, Wenzhou, China

Introduction: A local outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly evolved into a global pandemic and the number of cases and deaths has increased exponentially. In this study, we report a COVID-19 outbreak that occurred in a departmental store, between January and February 2020, in...

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Main Authors: Yiwei Zhou, Fanglv Xiang, Chaorong Ni, Xiaoming Zhang, Haibin Xie, Haishen Zhu, Zumu Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 2022-05-01
Series:Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
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Online Access:https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/15670
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author Yiwei Zhou
Fanglv Xiang
Chaorong Ni
Xiaoming Zhang
Haibin Xie
Haishen Zhu
Zumu Zhou
author_facet Yiwei Zhou
Fanglv Xiang
Chaorong Ni
Xiaoming Zhang
Haibin Xie
Haishen Zhu
Zumu Zhou
author_sort Yiwei Zhou
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: A local outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly evolved into a global pandemic and the number of cases and deaths has increased exponentially. In this study, we report a COVID-19 outbreak that occurred in a departmental store, between January and February 2020, in Wenzhou, China and investigated the reasons for the outbreak. Methodology: An outbreak investigation was initiated after the index case was diagnosed as COVID-19. Cases (confirmed and suspected) and close contacts were defined. Their pharyngeal swabs were collected and examined with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for nucleic acid. All investigations of the confirmed and suspected cases were carried out by epidemiologists and the source of infection was tracked by using big data. Results: Thirty-nine COVID-19 cases and one asymptomatic individual were found in this outbreak, as determined by clinical manifestations, epidemiological investigation, and RT-PCR. Majority of COVID-19 cases occurred in a departmental store, three of whom traveled to participate in a meeting held in H city. After disease outbreak in the departmental store, intra-family transmission of COVID-19 occurred in five families. Two clusters of the COVID-19 outbreak were identified. One cluster was attributed to the family party, while another was attributed to a hotel party, which was responsible for transmission across three generations, infecting five family members. Conclusions: This was travel associated COVID-19 outbreak in a departmental store in Wenzhou, China. High infectivity of COVID-19 was observed. A departmental store, especially without recirculation of the air, was a high-risk site for the transmission of COVID-19. The use of big data and related information was very useful in epidemiological investigation of cases and contacts.
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spelling doaj-art-b7f7135e237847f897ea994a131e4c482025-08-20T03:52:39ZengThe Journal of Infection in Developing CountriesJournal of Infection in Developing Countries1972-26802022-05-01160510.3855/jidc.15670Travel-associated outbreak of COVID-19 in a departmental store, Wenzhou, ChinaYiwei Zhou0Fanglv Xiang1Chaorong Ni2Xiaoming Zhang3Haibin Xie4Haishen Zhu5Zumu Zhou6Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, ChinaLucheng Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wenzhou, ChinaWenzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wenzhou, ChinaWenzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wenzhou, ChinaLucheng Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wenzhou, ChinaLucheng Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wenzhou, ChinaWenzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wenzhou, China Introduction: A local outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly evolved into a global pandemic and the number of cases and deaths has increased exponentially. In this study, we report a COVID-19 outbreak that occurred in a departmental store, between January and February 2020, in Wenzhou, China and investigated the reasons for the outbreak. Methodology: An outbreak investigation was initiated after the index case was diagnosed as COVID-19. Cases (confirmed and suspected) and close contacts were defined. Their pharyngeal swabs were collected and examined with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for nucleic acid. All investigations of the confirmed and suspected cases were carried out by epidemiologists and the source of infection was tracked by using big data. Results: Thirty-nine COVID-19 cases and one asymptomatic individual were found in this outbreak, as determined by clinical manifestations, epidemiological investigation, and RT-PCR. Majority of COVID-19 cases occurred in a departmental store, three of whom traveled to participate in a meeting held in H city. After disease outbreak in the departmental store, intra-family transmission of COVID-19 occurred in five families. Two clusters of the COVID-19 outbreak were identified. One cluster was attributed to the family party, while another was attributed to a hotel party, which was responsible for transmission across three generations, infecting five family members. Conclusions: This was travel associated COVID-19 outbreak in a departmental store in Wenzhou, China. High infectivity of COVID-19 was observed. A departmental store, especially without recirculation of the air, was a high-risk site for the transmission of COVID-19. The use of big data and related information was very useful in epidemiological investigation of cases and contacts. https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/15670COVID-19clusteroutbreaktravel
spellingShingle Yiwei Zhou
Fanglv Xiang
Chaorong Ni
Xiaoming Zhang
Haibin Xie
Haishen Zhu
Zumu Zhou
Travel-associated outbreak of COVID-19 in a departmental store, Wenzhou, China
Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
COVID-19
cluster
outbreak
travel
title Travel-associated outbreak of COVID-19 in a departmental store, Wenzhou, China
title_full Travel-associated outbreak of COVID-19 in a departmental store, Wenzhou, China
title_fullStr Travel-associated outbreak of COVID-19 in a departmental store, Wenzhou, China
title_full_unstemmed Travel-associated outbreak of COVID-19 in a departmental store, Wenzhou, China
title_short Travel-associated outbreak of COVID-19 in a departmental store, Wenzhou, China
title_sort travel associated outbreak of covid 19 in a departmental store wenzhou china
topic COVID-19
cluster
outbreak
travel
url https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/15670
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