Surveillance of common respiratory infections during COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates preventive effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions

Yang, Qi; Xiao, Xia; Gu, Xinxia; Liang, Dong; Cao, Ting; Mou, Jun; Huang, Chunxu; Chen, Lei; Liu, Jie

Objective Following the emergence of a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its spread outside of Wuhan, China, the human society has experienced a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While the development of vaccine and pharmaceutical treatment has been undergoing, government authorities in China implemented unprecedented non-pharmaceutical interventions as primary barriers to curb the spread of the deadly SARS-CoV-2. Although the decline of COVID-19 cases coincided with this implementation of interventions, we looked for evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of these interventions, since artifactual factors, such as the environment, the pathogen itself, and the phases of epidemic, may also alter the pattern of case development. Methods We surveyed common viral respiratory infections that have a similar pattern of transmission, tropism, and clinical manifestation as COVID-19 under such interventions during this season with pandemic, and compared it with historical data in previous seasons without the interventions. Results Our survey shows that the rates for common respiratory infections, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus infections, decreased dramatically from previous annual 13.7% (95% CI, 10.82-16.58) and 4.64% (95% CI, 2.88-7.64) to 0.73% (95% CI, 0.02-1.44) and 0.0%, respectively, in this season. Conclusions Our surveillance provides compelling evidence that the interventions are cost-effective ways to curb the spread of contagious agents, and may be the only practical approach to limiting the evolving of epidemic until vaccine and pharmaceutical treatment are available.