ArticleEpidemics2021
Optimal allocation of PCR tests to minimise disease transmission through contact tracing and quarantine.
Article in Epidemics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Quantifying the impact of contact tracing interview prioritisation strategies on disease transmission: A modelling study.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Optimizing the detection of emerging infections using mobility-based spatial sampling.International journal of applied earth observation and geoinformation : ITC journal · 2024Article
- Optimization of Screening Strategies for COVID-19: Scoping Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- Rapid prototyping of models for COVID-19 outbreak detection in workplaces.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Mathematical Model of COVID-19 Pandemic with Double Dose Vaccination.Acta biotheoretica · 2023Article
- Optimizing the nucleic acid screening strategy to mitigate regional outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in China: a modeling study.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2023Article
- Estimation of Total Cost Required in Controlling COVID-19 Outbreaks by Financial Incentives.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Title: Factors associated with time lag between symptom onset and reporting in the first epidemic wave of COVID-19 in Osaka, Japan.IJID regions · 2022Article
- An optimal control policy in fighting COVID-19 and infectious diseases.Applied soft computing · 2022Article
- Designing Mobile Epidemic Prevention Medical Stations for the COVID-19 Pandemic and International Medical Aid.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Impact of contact data resolution on the evaluation of interventions in mathematical models of infectious diseases.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
PCR testing is a crucial capability for managing disease outbreaks, but it is also a limited resource and must be used carefully to ensure the information gain from testing is valuable. Testing has two broad uses for informing public health policy, namely to track epidemic dynamics and to reduce transmission by identifying and managing cases. In this work we develop a modelling framework to examine the effects of test allocation in an epidemic, with a focus on using testing to minimise transmission. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, we examine how the number of tests conducted per day relates to reduction in disease transmission, in the context of logistical constraints on the testing system. We show that if daily testing is above the routine capacity of a testing system, which can cause delays, then those delays can undermine efforts to reduce transmission through contact tracing and quarantine. This work highlights that the two goals of aiming to reduce transmission and aiming to identify all cases are different, and it is possible that focusing on one may undermine achieving the other. To develop an effective strategy, the goals must be clear and performance metrics must match the goals of the testing strategy. If metrics do not match the objectives of the strategy, then those metrics may incentivise actions that undermine achieving the objectives.
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Registered trials
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.