Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39681927›Full record

ArticleBMC global and public health2024

Modelling COVID-19 transmission dynamics in Laos under non-pharmaceutical interventions, vaccination, and replacement of SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Xu-Sheng Zhang, Hong Luo, Andre Charlett, Daniela DeAngelis, Wei Liu, Peter Vickerman, Mark Woolhouse, Linxiong Wu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC global and public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Xu-Sheng ZhangStatistics, Modelling and Economics, Data, Analytics & Surveillance, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK. xu-sheng.zhang@UKHSA.gov.uk.
Hong LuoEducation College, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Andre CharlettStatistics, Modelling and Economics, Data, Analytics & Surveillance, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Daniela DeAngelisStatistics, Modelling and Economics, Data, Analytics & Surveillance, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Wei LiuSchool of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Peter VickermanPopulation Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Mark WoolhouseUsher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Linxiong WuSchool of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, People's Republic of China. wlx0871@qq.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUnderstanding how the COVID-19 pandemic evolved under control measures is crucial to tackle the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread. Laos, a country bordering China but with late occurrence and low burden of COVID-19 compared to its neighbouring countries, was used for a case study.

methodsA transmission model with disease reporting was proposed to investigate the impact of control measures on the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread in Laos from April 2021 to May 2022. It was assumed that the transmission rate changed with people's behaviours, control measures and emerging variants; susceptibility decreased with vaccination and infection. Bayesian inference was used for model calibration to data of confirmed cases, deaths, and recoveries, and the deviance information criterion was used to select the best model variant.

resultsOur model including Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), behaviour change, vaccination, and changing variants well explained the three waves in Laos. The Alpha variant was estimated to have a basic reproduction number of 1.55 (95% CrI: 1.47-1.64) and was replaced by the Delta variant from September 2021 which was 1.88 (95% CrI: 1.77-2.01) times more transmissible; the Delta variant was replaced by Omicron variant from March 2022 which was 3.33 (95% CrI: 2.84-3.74) times more transmissible. The Delta variant was the most severe with a case fatality rate of 1.05% (95% CrI: 0.96-1.15%) while the Alpha variant and Omicron variant were much milder. The ascertainment rate was low and variable: first decreasing from 13.2 to 1.8% by 23 May 2021, and then increasing to 23.4% by 15 March 2022. Counterfactual simulations indicated that vaccination played strong roles in reducing infections even under the emergence of immune escape variants while behaviour change delayed but might not flatten the peak of outbreaks.

conclusionsThe three waves of Laos' epidemics were due to the invasion of more transmissible and immune escape variants that affected the herd immunity built via vaccination and infection. Even with immunity waning and the escape of new variants, vaccination was still the major contributor to control COVID-19 and combining behaviour changes and vaccination would best suppress future outbreaks of COVID-19.

Indexed as

Bayesian estimationControl measuresCOVID-19Google mobilityModellingNon-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs)Oxford Government COVID-19 policy indexSARS-CoV-2VaccinationVariant

Identifiers

PMID39681927
PMCPMC11622881

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.