Abstract
Recent reports indicate that respiratory infectious diseases were suppressed during the novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 led to behavioral changes aimed to control droplet transmission or contact transmission. In this study, we examined the incidence of common infectious diseases in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 data were extracted from the national data based on the National Epidemiological Surveillance of Infectious Diseases (NESID). Common infectious diseases were selected from notifiable infectious diseases under the NESID. The epidemic activity of the diseases during 2015-2020 was evaluated based on the Infectious Disease Weekly Reports published by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases. Each disease was then categorized according to the route of transmission. Many Japanese people had adopted hygienic activities, such as wearing masks and hand washing, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined the correlation between the time-series of disease counts of common infectious diseases and COVID-19 over time using cross-correlation analysis. The weekly number of cases of measles, rotavirus, and several infections transmitted by droplet spread, was negatively correlated with the weekly number of cases of COVID-19 for up to 20 weeks in the past. According to the difference-in-differences analysis, the activity of influenza and rubella was significantly lower starting from the second week in 2020 than that in 2015-2019. Only legionellosis was more frequent throughout the year than in 2015-2019. Lower activity was also observed in some contact transmitted, airborne-transmitted, and fecal-oral transmitted diseases. However, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, exanthema subitum, showed the same trend as that over the previous 5 years. In conclusion, our study shows that public health interventions for the COVID-19 pandemic may have effectively prevented the transmission of most droplet-transmitted diseases and those transmitted through other routes.
Highlights
The novel coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, in late 2019 and has since spread worldwide through the transnational movement of people [1]
Considering that SARS-CoV-2 is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets and contact [3], these behaviors might decrease the spread of COVID-19 and other common infectious diseases [4]
The preventative behaviors of wearing masks and hand hygiene prevailed in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
Summary
The novel coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, in late 2019 and has since spread worldwide through the transnational movement of people [1]. In Japan, the first case of SARS-CoV-2 infection, known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was confirmed on January 16, 2020. The infection spread among tourists and returnees from China and their close contacts [2]. Considering that SARS-CoV-2 is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets and contact [3], these behaviors might decrease the spread of COVID-19 and other common infectious diseases [4]. The activities and trends of other infectious diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been evaluated. The present study examined the activities of common infectious diseases in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic based on nationwide surveillance by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare
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