Contact tracing for SARS-CoV-2: what can be learned from other conditions?

James Brown; Kyle Ring; Jacqui White; Nicola E Mackie; Ibrahim Abubakar; Marc Lipman

doi:10.7861/clinmed.2020-0643

Contact tracing for SARS-CoV-2: what can be learned from other conditions?

Clin Med (Lond). 2021 Mar;21(2):e132-e136. doi: 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0643. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Authors

James Brown¹, Kyle Ring², Jacqui White³, Nicola E Mackie², Ibrahim Abubakar⁴, Marc Lipman⁵

Affiliations

¹ Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
² Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
³ North Central London TB Service, Whittington Health, London, UK.
⁴ Institute of Global Health, University College London, UK.
⁵ University College London, UK marclipman@nhs.net.

Abstract

Contact tracing is central to the public health response to COVID-19, but the approach taken has received criticism for failing to make enough of an impact on disease transmission. We discuss what can be learned from contact tracing in other infections, and how the natural history of COVID-19 should shape the strategies used.

Keywords: COVID-19; contact tracing; public health.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Contact Tracing*
Humans
Public Health*
SARS-CoV-2