Effects of scheduled school breaks on the circulation of influenza in children, school-aged population and adults in China: a spatio-temporal analysis

School break / closure has been widely used as a non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) to mitigate severe epidemics and pandemics of respiratory infectious diseases, e.g., influenza and COVID-19. While school break has been reported to reduce the overall spread of respiratory infectious diseases [1-6], it could disproportionally affect certain population subgroups, e.g., students, which in turn reshape the epidemiology of respiratory infectious diseases in the broader population. Empirical contact data in a number of countries reveal compensatory contact behaviours during school closure compared with school term [7-9].
Source: International Journal of Infectious Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Source Type: research