The following is a summary of “Remote surveillance and detection of SARS-CoV-2 transmission among household members in King County, Washington,” published in March 2024, issue of Infectious Diseases by Emanuels et al.
COVID-19 put household contact of infected individuals at high risk for infection, and delays in contact tracing, testing contacts, and isolation posed challenges in capturing secondary household cases.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to understand the use of remote monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 transmission of household members of an infected person.
They used respiratory specimen collection kits to monitor 346 households in Seattle for respiratory symptoms from October 1, 2020, to June 20, 2021, via weekly web-based surveys. Symptomatic participants sent specimens to a central lab for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing, with whole genome sequencing attempted for positive cases. Infected individuals and their household contacts submitted specimens every 2 days for 14 days.
The results tested 2029 specimens out of 1371 participants. About 16 individuals from 6 households tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the study period and 11 individuals from 4 households helped generate full genome sequences. Transmission within the household was possible as very minimal genetic variation was found among different individuals from the same household.
Investigators concluded that it offers an effective approach for monitoring households and identifying SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
Source: bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-024-09160-z