Correlations between control of COVID-19 transmission and influenza occurrences in Malaysia

Objectives: The transmission of COVID-19 has sent Malaysia into cycles of tightening and relaxation of movement control, which are still continuing currently in line with local fluctuations of new COVID-19 cases. During movement control, measures comprising physical distancing, hand cleaning or s...

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Main Authors: Tang, Daniel Kuok Ho, Chin, Bridgid
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85131
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author Tang, Daniel Kuok Ho
Chin, Bridgid
author_facet Tang, Daniel Kuok Ho
Chin, Bridgid
author_sort Tang, Daniel Kuok Ho
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Objectives: The transmission of COVID-19 has sent Malaysia into cycles of tightening and relaxation of movement control, which are still continuing currently in line with local fluctuations of new COVID-19 cases. During movement control, measures comprising physical distancing, hand cleaning or sanitizing, and sanitization of premises are consistently implemented while self-isolation and travel restrictions are adaptively enforced. This study aims to examine if the control of COVID-19 transmission has an effect on the national influenza occurrences as some measures for COVID-19 control are similar to those for influenza. Study design: For this study, data of weekly new cases of influenza and COVID-19 were obtained from official platforms for non-parametric statistical analysis. Methods: This study compared the influenza occurrences before and after the onset of COVID-19 using the Mann–Whitney U-test and explored Spearman's correlations between COVID-19 and influenza incidences after the onset of COVID-19. Results: It shows that influenza incidences before and after the onset of COVID-19 were significantly different and that influenza cases have significantly reduced after the onset of COVID-19. The weekly cases of influenza and COVID-19 were significantly and negatively correlated. Conclusions: This study underscores the co-benefits of COVID-19 control measures and alleviates the concern for the risk of COVID-19 and influenza co-infection.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-851312022-08-12T05:20:52Z Correlations between control of COVID-19 transmission and influenza occurrences in Malaysia Tang, Daniel Kuok Ho Chin, Bridgid Objectives: The transmission of COVID-19 has sent Malaysia into cycles of tightening and relaxation of movement control, which are still continuing currently in line with local fluctuations of new COVID-19 cases. During movement control, measures comprising physical distancing, hand cleaning or sanitizing, and sanitization of premises are consistently implemented while self-isolation and travel restrictions are adaptively enforced. This study aims to examine if the control of COVID-19 transmission has an effect on the national influenza occurrences as some measures for COVID-19 control are similar to those for influenza. Study design: For this study, data of weekly new cases of influenza and COVID-19 were obtained from official platforms for non-parametric statistical analysis. Methods: This study compared the influenza occurrences before and after the onset of COVID-19 using the Mann–Whitney U-test and explored Spearman's correlations between COVID-19 and influenza incidences after the onset of COVID-19. Results: It shows that influenza incidences before and after the onset of COVID-19 were significantly different and that influenza cases have significantly reduced after the onset of COVID-19. The weekly cases of influenza and COVID-19 were significantly and negatively correlated. Conclusions: This study underscores the co-benefits of COVID-19 control measures and alleviates the concern for the risk of COVID-19 and influenza co-infection. 2021 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85131 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.007 English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Elsevier fulltext
spellingShingle Tang, Daniel Kuok Ho
Chin, Bridgid
Correlations between control of COVID-19 transmission and influenza occurrences in Malaysia
title Correlations between control of COVID-19 transmission and influenza occurrences in Malaysia
title_full Correlations between control of COVID-19 transmission and influenza occurrences in Malaysia
title_fullStr Correlations between control of COVID-19 transmission and influenza occurrences in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Correlations between control of COVID-19 transmission and influenza occurrences in Malaysia
title_short Correlations between control of COVID-19 transmission and influenza occurrences in Malaysia
title_sort correlations between control of covid-19 transmission and influenza occurrences in malaysia
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85131