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Abstract
The concept of caseness in the COVID-19 virus is important for early case finding and reporting. These are essential steps for prevention and control. This review defines and differentiates between types of cases and specifies the elements of each case definition in general with their application to COVID-19, where appropriate. These terms and their application are useful for the surveillance team, epidemiologists, clinicians, policy makers as well as the public in general.
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Kreidl P, Schmid D, Maritschnik S, Richter L, Borena W, Genger JW, Popa A, Penz T, Bock C, Bergthaler A, Allerberger F. Emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Austria. Wien Klin Wochenschr 2020; 132:645-652. [PMID: 32816114 PMCID: PMC7439636 DOI: 10.1007/s00508-020-01723-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
This is a report on the first identified cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Austria. The first documented case was a person who stayed in Kühtai, Tyrol, from 24 to 26 January 2020, and had been infected by a Chinese instructor in Starnberg (Germany) between 20 and 22 January. This counts as a German case since her diagnosis was eventually made in Munich (Germany) on 28 January. On 25 February, two cases imported from Italy were diagnosed in Innsbruck but again no secondary cases were identified in Austria. The first three infections of Austrian inhabitants were detected on 27 February in Vienna. The two resulting clusters finally included 6 (source of initial infection unknown) and 61 cases. Most likely, Italy was the source of the latter cluster. On 12 March the first fatal case of COVID-19 in Austria was reported, a 69-year-old Viennese who died in a Vienna hospital after returning from a cruise ship tour in Italy. On 6 March three autochthonously acquired cases were reported in the Tyrol, all related to the ski resort Ischgl. Of the first 14 Islandic COVID-19 cases infected in Ischgl, 11 had already returned to Iceland on 29 February. We consider that the incriminated barkeeper, who tested PCR positive on 7 March, was neither the primary case nor a superspreader. In our opinion, undetected transmission of SARS-CoV‑2 had been ongoing in Ischgl prior to the first laboratory confirmed cases. Our data also underline that the introduction of SARS-CoV‑2 into Austria was not one single event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Kreidl
- Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit (AGES), Spargelfeldstr. 191, 1220, Vienna, Austria.,Institut für Hygiene und Medizinische Mikrobiologie, Schöpfstr. 41, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Daniela Schmid
- Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit (AGES), Spargelfeldstr. 191, 1220, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sabine Maritschnik
- Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit (AGES), Spargelfeldstr. 191, 1220, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lukas Richter
- Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit (AGES), Spargelfeldstr. 191, 1220, Vienna, Austria
| | - Wegene Borena
- Institut für Virologie, Schöpfstr. 41, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Jakob-Wendelin Genger
- CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Lazarettgasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alexandra Popa
- CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Lazarettgasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Penz
- CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Lazarettgasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christoph Bock
- CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Lazarettgasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Bergthaler
- CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Lazarettgasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Franz Allerberger
- Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit (AGES), Spargelfeldstr. 191, 1220, Vienna, Austria. .,Institut für Hygiene und Medizinische Mikrobiologie, Schöpfstr. 41, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
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