Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33452267›Full record

ArticleNature communications2021

The challenges of containing SARS-CoV-2 via test-trace-and-isolate.

Sebastian Contreras, Jonas Dehning, Matthias Loidolt, Johannes Zierenberg, F Paul Spitzner, Jorge H Urrea-Quintero, Sebastian B Mohr, Michael Wilczek, Michael Wibral, Viola Priesemann

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
89citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

89 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Optimizing infectious disease mitigation under dynamic conditions.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  3. Mechanics of pandemics.EClinicalMedicine · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
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  6. Understanding Nash epidemics.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  7. Review
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  20. Article

29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Sebastian Contreras *Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8909-774X
Jonas Dehning *Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Matthias Loidolt *Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-3646-7190
Johannes ZierenbergMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-5840-3791
F Paul SpitznerMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Jorge H Urrea-QuinteroMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Sebastian B MohrMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4721-0561
Michael WilczekMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1423-8285
Michael WibralCampus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, University of Göttingen, Hermann-Rein-Straße 3, 37075, Göttingen, Germany.
Viola PriesemannMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, 37077, Göttingen, Germany. viola.priesemann@ds.mpg.de.ORCID 0000-0001-8905-5873

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Without a cure, vaccine, or proven long-term immunity against SARS-CoV-2, test-trace-and-isolate (TTI) strategies present a promising tool to contain its spread. For any TTI strategy, however, mitigation is challenged by pre- and asymptomatic transmission, TTI-avoiders, and undetected spreaders, which strongly contribute to "hidden" infection chains. Here, we study a semi-analytical model and identify two tipping points between controlled and uncontrolled spread: (1) the behavior-driven reproduction number [Formula: see text] of the hidden chains becomes too large to be compensated by the TTI capabilities, and (2) the number of new infections exceeds the tracing capacity. Both trigger a self-accelerating spread. We investigate how these tipping points depend on challenges like limited cooperation, missing contacts, and imperfect isolation. Our results suggest that TTI alone is insufficient to contain an otherwise unhindered spread of SARS-CoV-2, implying that complementary measures like social distancing and improved hygiene remain necessary.

Indexed as

AlgorithmsCommunicable Disease ControlContact TracingCOVID-19COVID-19 TestingHumansMass ScreeningModels, TheoreticalPandemicsReproducibility of ResultsSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID33452267
PMCPMC7810722

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.