Differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on laboratory reporting of norovirus and <i>Campylobacter</i> in England: A modelling approach



Ondrikova, Nikola ORCID: 0000-0003-4061-2901, Clough, Helen E, Douglas, Amy, Iturriza-Gomara, Miren ORCID: 0000-0001-5816-6423, Larkin, Lesley, Vivancos, Roberto, Harris, John P and Cunliffe, Nigel A ORCID: 0000-0002-5449-4988
(2021) Differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on laboratory reporting of norovirus and <i>Campylobacter</i> in England: A modelling approach. PLOS ONE, 16 (8). e0256638-.

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Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted surveillance activities for multiple pathogens. Since March 2020, there was a decline in the number of reports of norovirus and Campylobacter recorded by England's national laboratory surveillance system. The aim is to estimate and compare the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on norovirus and Campylobacter surveillance data in England.<h4>Methods</h4>We utilised two quasi-experimental approaches based on a generalised linear model for sequential count data. The first approach estimates overall impact and the second approach focuses on the impact of specific elements of the pandemic response (COVID-19 diagnostic testing and control measures). The following time series (27, 2015-43, 2020) were used: weekly laboratory-confirmed norovirus and Campylobacter reports, air temperature, conducted Sars-CoV-2 tests and Index of COVID-19 control measures stringency.<h4>Results</h4>The period of Sars-CoV-2 emergence and subsequent sustained transmission was associated with persistent reductions in norovirus laboratory reports (p = 0.001), whereas the reductions were more pronounced during pandemic emergence and later recovered for Campylobacter (p = 0.075). The total estimated reduction was 47% - 79% for norovirus (12-43, 2020). The total reduction varied by time for Campylobacter, e.g. 19% - 33% in April, 1% - 7% in August.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Laboratory reporting of norovirus was more adversely impacted than Campylobacter by the COVID-19 pandemic. This may be partially explained by a comparatively stronger effect of behavioural interventions on norovirus transmission and a relatively greater reduction in norovirus testing capacity. Our study underlines the differential impact a pandemic may have on surveillance of gastrointestinal infectious diseases.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Humans, Campylobacter, Norovirus, Campylobacter Infections, Caliciviridae Infections, Laboratories, England, Pandemics, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 Testing
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 03 Sep 2021 07:16
Last Modified: 17 Oct 2023 20:23
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256638
Open Access URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.13...
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3135672