EPIDEMIOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF COVID-19 CLUSTER IN THE DISTRICT OF TEMERLOH, MALAYSIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37268/mjphm/vol.24/no.2/art.2564Keywords:
infectious disease, covid19, cluster infectionsAbstract
Since its emergence, COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged many countries worldwide. The strong transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 was one of the factors which facilitated cluster infections in various settings. As the world continues to learn about evolving new variants and management of COVID-19 cluster infections – this study contributes to the effort by investigating the epidemiologic characteristics COVID-19 clusters in the district of Temerloh, Malaysia. Data of clusters in this study, reported from September 2021 to February 2022 was obtained from the Centre for Control Disease (CDC) Unit of Temerloh District Health Office. COVID-19 clusters were categorized into community, indigenous community (Orang Asli), educational and workplace cluster. A total of 39 clusters comprised of 2975 cases were identified. The highest proportion of clusters were made up of educational clusters (28.2%), followed by workplace clusters (25.6%). However, the highest number of positive cases came from indigenous community cluster (64.7%). The number of clusters recorded was highest in February 2022, whereas the highest number of cases involving clusters was reported in September 2021. Interval between index case diagnosis and cluster reporting was 7.5days (SD 3.8). Duration of active cluster showed a mean value of 13.4 days (SD 12.3). Analysis of cluster characteristics provides the opportunity to understand patterns of COVID-19 outbreaks better and how it differs in a local setting of a country in comparison to different parts of the world. Identifying factors contributing to these clusters would assist in implementing more effective suppression strategies at the local district level.
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