A sharp decrease in reported non-COVID-19 notifiable infectious diseases during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in the Rotterdam region, the Netherlands: a descriptive study

Abstract

Background The Public Health Services in the Rotterdam region, the Netherlands, observed a substantial decrease of non-COVID-19 notifiable infectious diseases and institutional outbreaks during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic. We describe this change from mid-March to mid-October 2020 by comparing with the pre-COVID-19 situation. Methods All cases of notifiable diseases and institutional outbreaks reported to the Public Health Services Rotterdam-Rijnmond between 1st January and mid-October 2020 were included. Seven-day moving averages and cumulative cases were plotted against time and compared to those of 2017–2019. Additionally, Google mobility transit data of the region were plotted, as proxy for social distancing. Results Respiratory, gastrointestinal, and travel-related notifiable diseases were reported 65% less often during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic than in the same weeks in 2017–2019. Reports of institutional outbreaks were also lower after the initially imposed social distancing measures; however, the numbers rebounded when measures were partially lifted. Conclusions Interpersonal distancing and hygiene measures imposed nationally against COVID-19 were in place between mid-March and mid-October, which most likely reduced transmission of other infectious diseases, and may thus have resulted in lower notifications of infectious diseases and outbreaks. This phenomenon opens future study options considering the effect of local outbreak control measures on a wide range of non-COVID-19 diseases. Targeted, tailored, appropriate and acceptable hygiene and distancing measures, specifically for vulnerable groups and institutions, should be devised and their effect investigated.

The impact of COVID-19 on the epidemiology of non-airborne/droplet-transmitted notifiable infectious diseases in Taiwan: A descriptive study

“…All these findings suggested that COVID-19-related NPIs through reducing human-to-human contact and environmental exposure might prevent the transmission of fecal-oral-, vector-borne, and direct-contact transmitted NIDs. In contrast to previous studies [12] , [18] , [19] , [20] , which investigated the short-term effect of NPI during early pandemic, our findings indicated that the effect of continuing NPIs can persistent for two years…”

“…The decreasing fecal-oral-, vector-borne, and direct-contact transmitted NIDs during pandemic were consistent with previous studies in other countries [12] , [18] , [19] , [20] . In Netherland, gastrointestinal-related NIDs, such as norovirus disease, hepatitis A and shigellosis and travel-related NIDs, such as malaria, Zika, typhoid fever, cholera, yellow fever and paratyphus were reported 50% less often during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic than in the corresponding period in 2017–2019 [18] . In Japan, lower activity of several contact transmitted, and fecal-oral transmitted diseases was observed in 2020 than that in 2015-2019 [12] .…”

The European Union One Health 2021 Zoonoses Report

“…gloves, hand sanitiser, cleaning of surfaces and equipment, etc.) or even in reducing travel-related FBOs, as observed in the literature (Ray et al, 2021;van Deursen et al, 2022). The diversion of technical, financial and human resources towards activities relating to the COVID-19 pandemic may also have had an important role.…”

Unintended Consequences of COVID-19 Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) for Population Health and Health Inequalities

“…While Crane et al (2022) [ 119 ] expressed reservations as to whether decreased reporting (or ‘notification’) of almost all nationally notifiable infectious diseases (NIDs) in the United States reflected a true decrease in disease, an impairment of notification processes, or a combination of the two; other authors reported confidently of decreases in incidence of diseases transmitted by droplet or contact in Japan [ 120 ] and of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in Germany [ 121 ] and the Netherlands [ 122 ]. Xiao et al (2021) [ 123 ] reported decreases in incidence of a broader range of NIDs, including insect-borne diseases such as typhus and dengue, as well as respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases.…”