Adding up the numbers: COVID-19 in South Africa

Suliman, Ridhwaan; Mtsweni, Jabu

doi:10.17159/sajs.2022/13874

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is important to note that both these data sets include data up to the end of 2019, specifically to avoid COVID-19 as it could potentially reflect on the medical insurance scheme claims under the ICD 10 code considering that these individuals are being treated symptomatically. Furthermore, it is yet to be proven that COVID-19 has a distinct seasonality in South Africa [13,34]. Ethical clearance to work with both data sets was obtained from the University of Witwatersrand Health Research Ethics Committee (HREC) with ethics clearance no: M210617 approved on 4 August 2021 and is valid up until 4 August 2026.…”

Section: Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining the South African Acute Respiratory Infectious Disease Season

Motlogeloa

Fitchett

Sweijd

2023

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The acute respiratory infectious disease season, or colloquially the “flu season”, is defined as the annually recurring period characterized by the prevalence of an outbreak of acute respiratory infectious diseases. It has been widely agreed that this season spans the winter period globally, but the precise timing or intensity of the season onset in South Africa is not well defined. This limits the efficacy of the public health sector to vaccinate for influenza timeously and for health facilities to synchronize efficiently for an increase in cases. This study explores the statistical intensity thresholds in defining this season to determine the start and finish date of the acute respiratory infectious disease season in South Africa. Two sets of data were utilized: public-sector hospitalization data that included laboratory-tested RSV and influenza cases and private-sector medical insurance claims under ICD 10 codes J111, J118, J110, and J00. Using the intensity threshold methodology proposed by the US CDC in 2017, various thresholds were tested for alignment with the nineteen-week flu season as proposed by the South African NICD. This resulted in varying thresholds for each province. The respiratory disease season commences in May and ends in September. These findings were seen in hospitalization cases and medical insurance claim cases, particularly with influenza-positive cases in Baragwanath hospital for the year 2019. These statistically determined intensity thresholds and timing of the acute respiratory infectious disease season allow for improved surveillance and preparedness among the public and private healthcare.

show abstract

Section: Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%