Research and analysis

PHE and LSHTM: The contribution of nosocomial infections to the first wave, 28 January 2021

Paper prepared by Public Health England (PHE) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

• From: Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies
• Published: 12 February 2021

Documents

The contribution of nosocomial infections to the first wave - 28 January 2021

PDF, 889 KB, 12 pages

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Details

Paper prepared by PHE and LSHTM on the contribution of nosocomial infections to the first wave. This paper was available for participants to read at SAGE 78 on 28 January 2021, but not considered or discussed in the meeting.

This paper provides an estimate of hospitalised COVID-19 cases that could have been due to nosocomial transmission; it makes some large assumptions about such cases, notably during a period when testing for COVID-19 was often limited. Assuming these limitations, the paper estimates how the first wave could have been affected by nosocomial infections.

An earlier version of this paper was presented at SAGE 63 on 22 October 2020. The paper is the assessment of the evidence at the time of writing. As new evidence or data emerges, SAGE updates its advice accordingly. The term nosocomial is used in this paper to refer to the transmissions of infection within a hospital setting.

These documents are released as pre-print publications that have provided the government with rapid evidence during an emergency. These documents have not been peer-reviewed and there is no restriction on authors submitting and publishing this evidence in peer-reviewed journals.

Published 12 February 2021