October 26, 2020

A Large National Outbreak of COVID-19 Linked to Air Travel, Ireland, Summer 2020

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): transmission

An analysis of an outbreak of laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 from across Ireland in the summer of 2020 linked the outbreak to an international flight. Onward transmission from 13 passenger cases on the flight resulted in a total of 59 cases in six of eight health regions in Ireland. Attack proportions among contacts were estimated to range from 10% to 18% despite low flight occupancy (17%) and well-spaced passenger seating on-board. The authors note that some individuals may have contracted the virus during the flight, while others were incubating or infected after the flight, and they recommend rapid contact tracing when a positive SARS-CoV-2 infection is linked to a flight. 

Murphy et al. (Oct 22, 2020). A Large National Outbreak of COVID-19 Linked to Air Travel, Ireland, Summer 2020. Eurosurveillance. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.42.2001624