Should public health policy exempt cases with low viral load from isolation during an epidemic?: a modelling study.

ABSTRACT: As demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as case isolation, are an important element of pandemic response. The overall impact of case isolation on epidemic dynamics depends on a number of factors, including the timing of isolation relative to the onset of contagiousness for each individual instructed to isolate by public health authorities. While there is an extensive literature examining the importance of minimising the delay from exposure to direction to isolate in determining the impact of case isolation policy, less is known about how underlying epidemic dynamics may also contribute to that impact. Empirical observation and modelling studies have shown that, as an epidemic progresses, the distribution of viral loads among cases changes system

SUBMITTER: Diao J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12284519 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature