Effectiveness of Non-pharmaceutical Interventions in Controlling an Influenza A Outbreak in a School, Thailand, November 2007

Authors

  • Chaninan Sonthichai Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), Bureau of Epidemiology (BOE), Department of Diseases Control (DDC), Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
  • S Iamsirithaworn Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), Bureau of Epidemiology (BOE), Department of Diseases Control (DDC), Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
  • DAT Cummings Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, USA
  • P Shokekird Li Hospital, Lamphun Province, Thailand
  • A Niramitsantipong Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), Bureau of Epidemiology (BOE), Department of Diseases Control (DDC), Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
  • S Khumket Li Hospital, Lamphun Province, Thailand
  • M Chittaganpitch National Institute of Health, Department of Medical Sciences, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
  • J Lessler Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v4i2.263354

Keywords:

influenza, school, Thailand

Abstract

Non-pharmaceutical interventions are often recommended as a component of integrated control measures for pandemic influenza, but the effectiveness needs to be evaluated. An outbreak of influenza A (H1N1) in northern Thailand in November 2007 offered opportunity to evaluate these interventions. An investigation was conducted to describe the outbreak, evaluate effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions and assess surge capacity of health agencies. A descriptive study was conducted by interviewing students and personnel in a school. We characterized transmission of the virus in this outbreak and explored effects of control measures. We identified that 44% of the students and teachers developed influenza during the 19-day outbreak. Non-pharmaceutical interventions including school closure, setting up a field hospital and community health education were implemented. These measures possibly limited the outbreak spreading to other schools nearby. Surveillance and preparedness plans could be strengthened to respond to pandemic and inter-pandemic influenza by using non-pharmaceutical interventions.

References

Lessler J, Reich NG, Brookmeyer R, Perl TM, Nelson KE, Cummings DAT. Incubation periods of acute respiratory viral infections: a systematic review. Lancet Infect Dis. 2009 May; 9(5): 291-300.

Heymann DL. Control of Communicable Disease Manual. 18th ed. Washington DC: American Public Health Association, 2004.

Shokekird P, Rattanapaiboonvitch T, To-aum A, Kalja R. An outbreak of influenza A (H1N1) in Li District, Lamphun Province, November 2007. Journal of Health System Research Institute. 2008 Jan-Mar; 2(1): 671-9.

Chittaganpitch M, Supawat K, Olsen SJ, Waicharoen S, Patthamadilok S, Yingyong T, et al. Influenza viruses in Thailand: 7 years of sentinel surveillance data, 2004-2010. Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2011 Nov 10. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-2659.2011.00302.x. [Epub ahead of print]

Lessler J, Chartpituck P, Iamsirithaworn S, Cummings DAT. Calculation of R in outbreak investigations: influenza in Thailand. 41st Annual Meeting of the Society for Epidemiologic Research, 2008.

Wallinga J, Teunis P. Different epidemic curves for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome reveal similar impacts of control measures. Am J Epidemiol. 2004; 160(6): 509-16.

Wutthanarungsan R, Areechokchai D, Jiamsiri S, Silaporn P, Poonaklom P, Jongcherdchootrakul K, et al. An outbreak investigation of influenza A (H1N1) in children development centre, Bangkok, November 2008. Weekly Epidemiological Surveillance Report. 2010 Mar; 41(8): 113-119.

Cowling BJ, Lau EH, Lam CL, Cheng CK, Kovar J, Chan KH, et al. Effects of School closures, 2008 winter influenza season, Hong Kong. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Oct; 14(10):1660-2.

Davey VJ, Glass RJ. Rescinding community mitigation strategies in an influenza pandemic. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Mar; 14(3): 365-72.

Besculides M, Heffernan R, Mostashari F, Weiss D. Evaluation of school absenteeism data for early outbreak detection, New York City. BMC Public Health. 2005 Oct 7; 5: 105.

Downloads

Published

2011-12-30

How to Cite

Sonthichai, C., Iamsirithaworn, S., Cummings, D., Shokekird, P., Niramitsantipong, A., Khumket, S., Chittaganpitch, M., & Lessler, J. (2011). Effectiveness of Non-pharmaceutical Interventions in Controlling an Influenza A Outbreak in a School, Thailand, November 2007. Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal, 4(2), 6–11. https://doi.org/10.59096/osir.v4i2.263354

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2011): July - December

Section

Original article

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Outbreak, Surveillance, Investigation & Response (OSIR) Journal

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.