According to a new study, an in-flight infection of Covid-19 could have infected 59 people across Ireland. This includes 13 passengers on the same long-haul flight.
A study published in a European journal found that the outbreak occurred despite the low occupancy of flights from the Middle East to Ireland during the summer.
Written by the Irish Public Health Service and published by Eurosurveillance, the paper found that 13 passengers were positive between 2 and 17 days after landing in Ireland.
The youngest passenger on the test was one, the oldest passenger was 65 years old, and the median age was 23 years old.
The study, which did not specify the airline or origin, found that the virus had spread to the plane, even though only 49 (17%) of the 283 seats on the plane were occupied.
All 13 passengers, who were later tested positive, flew from three different continents to Europe and traveled via a large international airport.
According to the study, one group of infected passengers spent up to 12 hours overnight in the transit lounge during a stopover. The flight time to Ireland was 7.5 hours.
Twelve of the 13 flight cases and nearly three-quarters of the 46 non-flight cases identified later were symptomatological.
The earliest onset of symptoms among the 13 passengers occurred 2 days after arrival, and the last onset of onset occurred 17 days after flight.
Of the 13 infected passengers, 9 wore masks during the flight. The infected child did not cover his face, but the three passengers did not say whether they were wearing masks.
The study found that the “source case” of the outbreak was unknown, and that the Ministry of Health had set up a team for “case investigation, identification, interviews, contact tracing supervision, and establishment of control measures.” I’m pointing out.
This study suggests that a large number of cases may be associated with “high-intensity infection and high viral shedding” in the case of origin.
Passengers in close contact were defined as two seats in all directions from the first notified case.
Nine close contacts of infected passengers were initially positive. The rest of the passengers were then offered tests where they could be reached.
Since then, five more passengers have tested positive for Covid-19, 15 have been negative, and 11 have been unable to contact.
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At the time of the outbreak, the 14-day incidence in Ireland was less than 5 per 100,000. Currently, there are 302.91 cases per 100,000 people.
The study states: “Pre-infection from 13 passenger cases resulted in a total of 59 cases in 6 of Ireland’s 8 HSE health areas, requiring national surveillance of outbreaks.”
The survey states that “quick response” is needed. This usually happens when there are no other links beyond the radius of the two closely-contacted seats, which is usually applied when investigating the occurrence of air passengers.
“Strict in-flight infection prevention and control measures are essential to reduce the risk of both symptomatic and asymptomatic in-flight infections.”
“Restriction of movement on arrival and strong contact tracing are essential to limit post-flight propagation,” the study states.
Earlier this week, it was announced that the EU’s “traffic light” system would come into effect in Ireland on Sunday, November 8th, to adjust international Covid-19 travel restrictions across the continent.
Under this plan, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control will publish a weekly map of the EU using a three-step color system to show the level of risk in each region.
Levels are determined by a variety of epidemiological factors, including the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population and the level of positive tests.
