Prevention and Control for Suspected Cases

In the Protocol for Novel Coronavirus-infected Pneumonia Prevention and Control (2nd Edition), released on January 22, the NHC laid out guidelines for monitoring of the patients, epidemiological investigations, and management of suspicious exposures and close contacts, and technical guidelines for laboratory testing. Nine measures of prevention and control, including strengthening organization and leadership, case detection and report, and epidemiological investigation, were provided to guide healthcare facilities and disease control centers at all levels on monitoring, detecting and reporting infections. 

According to the Protocol, the definition of suspected cases considers both clinical and epidemiological features. There are three clinical manifestations: fever; radiographic imaging consistent with pneumonia; and normal or decreased white blood cell count, or decreased lymphocyte count in the early stages of the disease. The epidemiological history includes: history of travel to or residence in Wuhan within 14 days prior to the onset of the disease; contact with a patient from Wuhan with fever and respiratory symptoms within 14 days prior to the onset of the disease; clustered cases; or epidemiological relation with confirmed cases. A suspected case is defined by having all the three clinical manifestations plus any of the epidemiological history criteria.

It is stated in the Protocol that if patients who meet the definitions of suspected or confirmed cases are detected, healthcare facilities should conduct epidemiological investigations, specimen collections and lab testing, and strengthen measures for quarantine, disinfection, prevention and control. Suspected cases should be quarantined and treated in single rooms.

疑似病例防控

國家衛生健康委在2020年1月22日發布的《新型冠狀病毒感染的肺炎防控方案(第二版)》中,明確提出了新冠肺炎病例監測方案、流行病學調查方案、可疑暴露者和密切接觸者管理方案以及實驗室檢測技術指南,提出加強組織領導、病例發現與報告、流行病學調查等9項防控措施,指導各級各類醫療機構、各級疾控機構開展病例監測、發現和報告工作。根據該防控方案,疑似病例的定義為:有三項臨床表現,即發熱,具有肺炎影像學特征,發病早期白細胞總數正常或降低,或淋巴細胞計數減少;同時,具有發病前14天內有武漢旅行史或居住史,或發病前14天內曾接觸過來自武漢的發熱伴有呼吸道癥狀的患者,或有聚集性發病或與確診病例有流行病學關聯等任何一項流行病學史的患者。

該防控方案指出,醫療機構發現符合疑似病例、確診病例定義的患者時,應按要求開展流行病學調查、進行臨床標本采集與相關病原檢測;加強隔離、消毒和防護工作,對疑似病例進行單間隔離治療。