Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the United Kingdom, January to March 2020

Jamie Lopez Bernal; Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos; Chloe Byers; Tatiana Garcia Vilaplana; Nicki Boddington; Xu Sheng Zhang; Andre Charlett; Suzanne Elgohari; Laura Coughlan; Rosie Whillock; Sophie Logan; Hikaru Bolt; Mary Sinnathamby; Louise Letley; Pauline MacDonald; Roberto Vivancos; Obaghe Edeghere; Charlotte Anderson; Karthik Paranthaman; Simon Cottrell; Jim McMenamin; Maria Zambon; Gavin Dabrera; Mary Ramsay; Vanessa Saliba

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551

Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the United Kingdom, January to March 2020

Jamie Lopez Bernal, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, Chloe Byers, Tatiana Garcia Vilaplana, Nicki Boddington, Xu Sheng Zhang, Andre Charlett, Suzanne Elgohari, Laura Coughlan, Rosie Whillock, Sophie Logan, Hikaru Bolt, Mary Sinnathamby, Louise Letley, Pauline MacDonald, Roberto Vivancos, Obaghe Edeghere, Charlotte Anderson, Karthik Paranthaman, Simon CottrellJim McMenamin, Maria Zambon, Gavin Dabrera, Mary Ramsay, Vanessa Saliba

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

117 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background Households appear to be the highest risk setting for COVID-19 transmission. Large household transmission studies in the early stages of the pandemic in Asia reported secondary attack rates ranging from 5 to 30%.

Aim: We aimed to investigate the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the UK.

Methods:A prospective case-ascertained study design based on the World Health Organization FFX protocol was undertaken in the UK following the detection of the first case in late January 2020. Household contacts of cases were followed using enhanced surveillance forms to establish whether they developed symptoms of COVID-19, became confirmed cases and their outcomes. We estimated household secondary attack rates (SAR), serial intervals and individual and household basic reproduction numbers. The incubation period was estimated using known point source exposures that resulted in secondary cases.

Results: We included 233 households with two or more people with 472 contacts. The overall household SAR was 37% (95% CI: 31-43%) with a mean serial interval of 4.67 days, an R0 of 1.85 and a household reproduction number of 2.33. SAR were lower in larger households and highest when the primary case was younger than 18 years. We estimated a mean incubation period of around 4.5 days.

Conclusions: Rates of COVID-19 household transmission were high in the UK for ages above and under 18 years, emphasising the need for preventative measures in this setting. This study highlights the importance of the FFX protocol in providing early insights on transmission dynamics.

Original language	English
Journal	Eurosurveillance
Volume	27
Issue number	15
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551
Publication status	Published - 14 Apr 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information: Conflict of interest - None declared.

Open Access: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) Licence. You may share and adapt the material, but must give appropriate credit to the source, provide a link to the licence and indicate if changes were made.

Publisher Copyright: This article is copyright of the authors or their affiliated institutions, 2022.

Citation: Lopez Bernal Jamie, Panagiotopoulos Nikolaos, Byers Chloe, Garcia Vilaplana Tatiana, Boddington Nicki, Zhang Xu-Sheng, Charlett Andre, Elgohari Suzanne, Coughlan Laura, Whillock Rosie, Logan Sophie, Bolt Hikaru, Sinnathamby Mary, Letley Louise, MacDonald Pauline, Vivancos Roberto, Edeghere Obaghe,
Anderson Charlotte, Paranthaman Karthik, Cottrell Simon, McMenamin Jim, Zambon Maria, Dabrera Gavin, Ramsay Mary, Saliba Vanessa. Transmission
dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the United Kingdom, January to March 2020. Euro Surveill. 2022;27(15):pii=2001551.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551Licence: CC BY

LopezBernal2022TransmissionDynamicsOfCOVID-19InHouseholdAndCommunitySettingsInTheUnitedKingdomEuroSurveillFinal published version, 223 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Lopez Bernal, J., Panagiotopoulos, N., Byers, C., Garcia Vilaplana, T., Boddington, N., Zhang, X. S., Charlett, A., Elgohari, S., Coughlan, L., Whillock, R., Logan, S., Bolt, H., Sinnathamby, M., Letley, L., MacDonald, P., Vivancos, R., Edeghere, O., Anderson, C., Paranthaman, K., ... Saliba, V. (2022). Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the United Kingdom, January to March 2020. Eurosurveillance, 27(15). https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551

@article{d7779bf4bffc405ab3b47328c9db7724,

title = "Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the United Kingdom, January to March 2020",

abstract = "Background Households appear to be the highest risk setting for COVID-19 transmission. Large household transmission studies in the early stages of the pandemic in Asia reported secondary attack rates ranging from 5 to 30\%.Aim: We aimed to investigate the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the UK.Methods:A prospective case-ascertained study design based on the World Health Organization FFX protocol was undertaken in the UK following the detection of the first case in late January 2020. Household contacts of cases were followed using enhanced surveillance forms to establish whether they developed symptoms of COVID-19, became confirmed cases and their outcomes. We estimated household secondary attack rates (SAR), serial intervals and individual and household basic reproduction numbers. The incubation period was estimated using known point source exposures that resulted in secondary cases.Results: We included 233 households with two or more people with 472 contacts. The overall household SAR was 37\% (95\% CI: 31-43\%) with a mean serial interval of 4.67 days, an R0 of 1.85 and a household reproduction number of 2.33. SAR were lower in larger households and highest when the primary case was younger than 18 years. We estimated a mean incubation period of around 4.5 days.Conclusions: Rates of COVID-19 household transmission were high in the UK for ages above and under 18 years, emphasising the need for preventative measures in this setting. This study highlights the importance of the FFX protocol in providing early insights on transmission dynamics.",

author = "\{Lopez Bernal\}, Jamie and Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos and Chloe Byers and \{Garcia Vilaplana\}, Tatiana and Nicki Boddington and Zhang, \{Xu Sheng\} and Andre Charlett and Suzanne Elgohari and Laura Coughlan and Rosie Whillock and Sophie Logan and Hikaru Bolt and Mary Sinnathamby and Louise Letley and Pauline MacDonald and Roberto Vivancos and Obaghe Edeghere and Charlotte Anderson and Karthik Paranthaman and Simon Cottrell and Jim McMenamin and Maria Zambon and Gavin Dabrera and Mary Ramsay and Vanessa Saliba",

note = "Funding Information: Conflict of interest - None declared. Open Access: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) Licence. You may share and adapt the material, but must give appropriate credit to the source, provide a link to the licence and indicate if changes were made. Publisher Copyright: This article is copyright of the authors or their affiliated institutions, 2022. Citation: Lopez Bernal Jamie, Panagiotopoulos Nikolaos, Byers Chloe, Garcia Vilaplana Tatiana, Boddington Nicki, Zhang Xu-Sheng, Charlett Andre, Elgohari Suzanne, Coughlan Laura, Whillock Rosie, Logan Sophie, Bolt Hikaru, Sinnathamby Mary, Letley Louise, MacDonald Pauline, Vivancos Roberto, Edeghere Obaghe, Anderson Charlotte, Paranthaman Karthik, Cottrell Simon, McMenamin Jim, Zambon Maria, Dabrera Gavin, Ramsay Mary, Saliba Vanessa. Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the United Kingdom, January to March 2020. Euro Surveill. 2022;27(15):pii=2001551. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551",

year = "2022",

month = apr,

day = "14",

doi = "10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551",

language = "English",

volume = "27",

journal = "Eurosurveillance",

issn = "1025-496X",

publisher = "European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)",

number = "15",

}

Lopez Bernal, J, Panagiotopoulos, N, Byers, C, Garcia Vilaplana, T, Boddington, N, Zhang, XS , Charlett, A , Elgohari, S, Coughlan, L, Whillock, R, Logan, S, Bolt, H, Sinnathamby, M , Letley, L, MacDonald, P, Vivancos, R , Edeghere, O , Anderson, C , Paranthaman, K, Cottrell, S, McMenamin, J, Zambon, M , Dabrera, G , Ramsay, M & Saliba, V 2022, 'Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the United Kingdom, January to March 2020', Eurosurveillance, vol. 27, no. 15. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551

TY - JOUR

T1 - Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the United Kingdom, January to March 2020

AU - Lopez Bernal, Jamie

AU - Panagiotopoulos, Nikolaos

AU - Byers, Chloe

AU - Garcia Vilaplana, Tatiana

AU - Boddington, Nicki

AU - Zhang, Xu Sheng

AU - Charlett, Andre

AU - Elgohari, Suzanne

AU - Coughlan, Laura

AU - Whillock, Rosie

AU - Logan, Sophie

AU - Bolt, Hikaru

AU - Sinnathamby, Mary

AU - Letley, Louise

AU - MacDonald, Pauline

AU - Vivancos, Roberto

AU - Edeghere, Obaghe

AU - Anderson, Charlotte

AU - Paranthaman, Karthik

AU - Cottrell, Simon

AU - McMenamin, Jim

AU - Zambon, Maria

AU - Dabrera, Gavin

AU - Ramsay, Mary

AU - Saliba, Vanessa

N1 - Funding Information: Conflict of interest - None declared. Open Access: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) Licence. You may share and adapt the material, but must give appropriate credit to the source, provide a link to the licence and indicate if changes were made. Publisher Copyright: This article is copyright of the authors or their affiliated institutions, 2022. Citation: Lopez Bernal Jamie, Panagiotopoulos Nikolaos, Byers Chloe, Garcia Vilaplana Tatiana, Boddington Nicki, Zhang Xu-Sheng, Charlett Andre, Elgohari Suzanne, Coughlan Laura, Whillock Rosie, Logan Sophie, Bolt Hikaru, Sinnathamby Mary, Letley Louise, MacDonald Pauline, Vivancos Roberto, Edeghere Obaghe, Anderson Charlotte, Paranthaman Karthik, Cottrell Simon, McMenamin Jim, Zambon Maria, Dabrera Gavin, Ramsay Mary, Saliba Vanessa. Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the United Kingdom, January to March 2020. Euro Surveill. 2022;27(15):pii=2001551. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551

PY - 2022/4/14

Y1 - 2022/4/14

N2 - Background Households appear to be the highest risk setting for COVID-19 transmission. Large household transmission studies in the early stages of the pandemic in Asia reported secondary attack rates ranging from 5 to 30%.Aim: We aimed to investigate the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the UK.Methods:A prospective case-ascertained study design based on the World Health Organization FFX protocol was undertaken in the UK following the detection of the first case in late January 2020. Household contacts of cases were followed using enhanced surveillance forms to establish whether they developed symptoms of COVID-19, became confirmed cases and their outcomes. We estimated household secondary attack rates (SAR), serial intervals and individual and household basic reproduction numbers. The incubation period was estimated using known point source exposures that resulted in secondary cases.Results: We included 233 households with two or more people with 472 contacts. The overall household SAR was 37% (95% CI: 31-43%) with a mean serial interval of 4.67 days, an R0 of 1.85 and a household reproduction number of 2.33. SAR were lower in larger households and highest when the primary case was younger than 18 years. We estimated a mean incubation period of around 4.5 days.Conclusions: Rates of COVID-19 household transmission were high in the UK for ages above and under 18 years, emphasising the need for preventative measures in this setting. This study highlights the importance of the FFX protocol in providing early insights on transmission dynamics.

AB - Background Households appear to be the highest risk setting for COVID-19 transmission. Large household transmission studies in the early stages of the pandemic in Asia reported secondary attack rates ranging from 5 to 30%.Aim: We aimed to investigate the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the UK.Methods:A prospective case-ascertained study design based on the World Health Organization FFX protocol was undertaken in the UK following the detection of the first case in late January 2020. Household contacts of cases were followed using enhanced surveillance forms to establish whether they developed symptoms of COVID-19, became confirmed cases and their outcomes. We estimated household secondary attack rates (SAR), serial intervals and individual and household basic reproduction numbers. The incubation period was estimated using known point source exposures that resulted in secondary cases.Results: We included 233 households with two or more people with 472 contacts. The overall household SAR was 37% (95% CI: 31-43%) with a mean serial interval of 4.67 days, an R0 of 1.85 and a household reproduction number of 2.33. SAR were lower in larger households and highest when the primary case was younger than 18 years. We estimated a mean incubation period of around 4.5 days.Conclusions: Rates of COVID-19 household transmission were high in the UK for ages above and under 18 years, emphasising the need for preventative measures in this setting. This study highlights the importance of the FFX protocol in providing early insights on transmission dynamics.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128321679&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551

DO - 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.15.2001551

M3 - Article

C2 - 35426357

AN - SCOPUS:85128321679

SN - 1025-496X

VL - 27

JO - Eurosurveillance

JF - Eurosurveillance

IS - 15

ER -

Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in household and community settings in the United Kingdom, January to March 2020

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this