COVID_19 in Australia: our national response to the first cases of SARS_CoV_2 infection during the early biocontainment phase
Type
ArticleAuthor/s
Shaban, Ramon Z.Li, Cecilia
O'Sullivan, Matthew V. N.
Gerrard, John
Stuart, Rhonda L.
Teh, Joanne
Gilroy, Nicole
Sorrell, Tania C.
White, Elizabeth
Bag, Shopna
Hackett, Kate
Chen, Sharon C. A.
Kok, Jen
Dwyer, Dominic E.
Iredell, Jonathan R.
Maddocks, Susan
Ferguson, Patricia
Varshney, Kavita
Carter, Ian
Barratt, Ruth
Robertson, Mark
Baskar, Sai R.
Friend, Caren
Robosa, Roselle S.
Sotomayor_Castillo, Cristina
Nahidi, Shizar
Macbeth, Deborough A.
Alcorn, Kylie A. D.
Wattiaux, Andre
Moore, Frederick
McMahon, Jamie
Naughton, William
Korman, Tony M.
Catton, Mike
Kanapathipillai, Rupa
Romanes, Finn
Rowe, Emily
Catford, Jennifer
Kennedy, Brendan
Qiao, Ming
Shaw, David
Abstract
BACKGROUND: On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization recognised clusters of pneumonia-like cases due to a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 became a pandemic 71_days later.
AIM: To report the clinical and epidemiological features, laboratory data and outcomes ...
See moreBACKGROUND: On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization recognised clusters of pneumonia-like cases due to a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 became a pandemic 71_days later. AIM: To report the clinical and epidemiological features, laboratory data and outcomes of the first group of 11 returned travellers with COVID-19 in Australia. METHODS: This is a retrospective, multi-centre case series. All patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection were admitted to tertiary referral hospitals in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. RESULTS: The median age of the patient cohort was 42_years (interquartile range (IQR), 24-53_years) with six men and five women. Eight (72.7%) patients had returned from Wuhan, one from Shenzhen, one from Japan and one from Europe. Possible human-to-human transmission from close family contacts in gatherings overseas occurred in two cases. Symptoms on admission were fever, cough and sore throat (n =_9, 81.8%). Co-morbidities included hypertension (n =_3, 27.3%) and hypercholesterolaemia (n =_2, 18.2%). No patients developed severe acute respiratory distress nor required intensive care unit admission or mechanical ventilation. After a median hospital stay of 14.5_days (IQR, 6.75-21), all patients were discharged. CONCLUSIONS: This is a historical record of the first COVID-19 cases in Australia during the early biocontainment phase of the national response. These findings were invaluable for establishing early inpatient and outpatient COVID-19 models of care and informing the management of COVID-19 over time as the outbreak evolved. Future research should extend this Australian case series to examine global epidemiological variation of this novel infection.
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See moreBACKGROUND: On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization recognised clusters of pneumonia-like cases due to a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 became a pandemic 71_days later. AIM: To report the clinical and epidemiological features, laboratory data and outcomes of the first group of 11 returned travellers with COVID-19 in Australia. METHODS: This is a retrospective, multi-centre case series. All patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection were admitted to tertiary referral hospitals in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. RESULTS: The median age of the patient cohort was 42_years (interquartile range (IQR), 24-53_years) with six men and five women. Eight (72.7%) patients had returned from Wuhan, one from Shenzhen, one from Japan and one from Europe. Possible human-to-human transmission from close family contacts in gatherings overseas occurred in two cases. Symptoms on admission were fever, cough and sore throat (n =_9, 81.8%). Co-morbidities included hypertension (n =_3, 27.3%) and hypercholesterolaemia (n =_2, 18.2%). No patients developed severe acute respiratory distress nor required intensive care unit admission or mechanical ventilation. After a median hospital stay of 14.5_days (IQR, 6.75-21), all patients were discharged. CONCLUSIONS: This is a historical record of the first COVID-19 cases in Australia during the early biocontainment phase of the national response. These findings were invaluable for establishing early inpatient and outpatient COVID-19 models of care and informing the management of COVID-19 over time as the outbreak evolved. Future research should extend this Australian case series to examine global epidemiological variation of this novel infection.
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Date
2021Share