November 10, 2020

The Effect of SARS-CoV-2 Mitigation Strategies on Seasonal Respiratory Viruses: A Tale of Two Large Metropolitan Centers in the United States

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions

Keywords (Tags): non-pharm interventions

Public health measures implemented to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission may have reduced the transmission of other seasonal respiratory viruses. In a retrospective review of medical records from health systems in Atlanta and Boston, average reproductive number (R_t) was found to remain above 1 for much longer in the past 5 seasons for influenza A, influenza B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) compared to the September 2019-May 2020 season, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. Declines in R_t in both locations in 2020 seemed to coincide with implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions.

Sherman et al. (Nov 8, 2020). The Effect of SARS-CoV-2 Mitigation Strategies on Seasonal Respiratory Viruses: A Tale of Two Large Metropolitan Centers in the United States. Clinical Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1704