Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41873171›Full record

ArticleEpidemiology and infection2026

Effectiveness of voluntary PCR testing against COVID-19 spread in remote Japanese islands.

Moto Kimura, Yusuke Asai, Shinya Tsuzuki, Yosuke Shimizu, Yukari Uemura, Yurika Tanaka, Junko Terada-Hirashima, Masahiro Ishikane, Yukumasa Kazuyama, Masato Ikeda and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Epidemiology and infection, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

13 authors.

Moto KimuraJapan Institute for Health Security, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2202-5527
Yusuke AsaiJapan Institute for Health Security, Japan.
Shinya TsuzukiJapan Institute for Health Security, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5732-846X
Yosuke ShimizuJapan Institute for Health Security, Japan.
Yukari UemuraJapan Institute for Health Security, Japan.
Yurika TanakaJapan Institute for Health Security, Japan.
Junko Terada-HirashimaJapan Institute for Health Security, Japan.
Masahiro IshikaneJapan Institute for Health Security, Japan.
Yukumasa KazuyamaSB Coronavirus Inspection Center Corp, Japan.
Masato IkedaSB Coronavirus Inspection Center Corp, Japan.
Toyohisa KondoTokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of General Affairs, Japan.
Norio OhmagariJapan Institute for Health Security, Japan.
Wataru SugiuraJapan Institute for Health Security, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We assessed the association between voluntary polymerase chain reaction testing of travellers and reported infection rates in the Ogasawara Islands compared with those in several other Tokyo islands. The implementation of polymerase chain reaction testing over a 2-year period was evaluated. Between September 2020 and September 2022, 38,943 of 45,900 travellers to the Ogasawara Islands underwent pre-travel polymerase chain reaction testing, with a notable increase in uptake during states of emergency. Ogasawara reported 385 positive coronavirus disease 2019 cases, with no hospitalizations or severe cases among residents, in contrast to the higher infection and hospitalization rates in Tokyo. Pre-boarding polymerase chain reaction tests were associated with lower reported infection rates in this island setting. These findings suggest that combining pre-travel testing with local mitigation measures, including case isolation systems, may help safeguard the communities of small, geographically isolated islands. These results may inform public health preparedness and response strategies for future infectious disease outbreaks.

Indexed as

COVID-19COVID-19 Nucleic Acid TestingPolymerase Chain ReactionSARS-CoV-2East Asian PeopleHumansIslandsJapanTravelcase isolationJapanpre-boarding PCR testremote islandsSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID41873171
PMCPMC13100917

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.