Serial Laboratory Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Incarcerated and Detained Persons in a Correctional and Detention Facility — Louisiana, April–May 2020

Details

• Personal Author:
  Njuguna, Henry ; Wallace, Megan ; Simonson, Sean ; Tobolowsky, Farrell A. ; James, Allison E. ; Bordelon, Keith ; Fukunaga, Rena ; Gold, Jeremy A. W. ; Wortham, Jonathan ; Sokol, Theresa ; Haydel, Danielle ; Tran, Ha ; Kim, Kaylee ; Fisher, Kiva A. ; Marlow, Mariel ; Tate, Jacqueline E. ; Doshi, Reena H. ; Curran, Kathryn G.
• Corporate Authors:
  CDC COVID-19 Response Team. ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)Epidemic Intelligence Service. ; Louisiana. Department of Health.
• Description:
  What is already known about this topic? Correctional and detention facilities face unique challenges in detecting and mitigating Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
  
  What is added by this report? Testing among quarantined contacts of patients with COVID-19 in a correctional and detention facility identified a high proportion of asymptomatic and presymptomatic cases that were not identified through symptom screening alone. Approximately one fourth of cases were found through serial tTesting during quarantine.
  
  What are the implications for public health practice? Early detection and isolation of persons with COVID-19, along with tTesting of close contacts, can slow the Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in correctional and detention facilities. Serial tTesting, particularly for close contacts of patients, is important for complete identification of cases and prompt public health response in congregate settings.
  
  Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the Virus that causes coronaVirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by asymptomatic and presymptomatic persons poses important challenges to controlling spread of the disease, particularly in congregate settings such as correctional and detention facilities (1). On March 29, 2020, a staff member in a correctional and detention facility in Louisiana developed symptoms† and later had a positive test result for SARS-CoV-2. During April 2–May 7, two additional cases were detected among staff members, and 36 cases were detected among incarcerated and detained persons at the facility; these persons were removed from dormitories and isolated, and the five dormitories that they had resided in before Diagnosis were quarantined. On May 7, CDC and the Louisiana Department of Health initiated an investigation to assess the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among incarcerated and detained persons residing in quarantined dormitories. Goals of this investigation included evaluating COVID-19 symptoms in this setting and assessing the effectiveness of serial tTesting to identify additional persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection as part of efforts to mitigate Transmission. During May 7–21, tTesting of 98 incarcerated and detained persons residing in the five quarantined dormitories (A–E) identified an additional 71 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection; 32 (45%) were among persons who reported no symptoms at the time of tTesting, including three who were presymptomatic. Eighteen cases (25%) were identified in persons who had received negative test results during previous tTesting rounds. Serial tTesting of contacts from shared living quarters identified persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection who would not have been detected by symptom screening alone or by tTesting at a single time point. Prompt identification and isolation of infected persons is important to reduce further Transmission in congregate settings such as correctional and detention facilities and the communities to which persons return when released.
  
  On March 29, a staff member working in a correctional and detention facility in Louisiana reported symptoms of COVID-19 and later had a positive test result for SARS-CoV-2. Two additional cases among staff members were identified on April 2 and April 10. The facility housed approximately 700 incarcerated and detained persons in 15 dormitories. On April 7, the first case of COVID-19 in an incarcerated person was detected after the patient reported symptoms. During April 8–May 7, through daily active monitoring with temperature screening and oxygen saturation measurements, an additional 35 laboratory-confirmed symptomatic cases were identified among incarcerated and detained persons in five dormitories, resulting in three hospitalizations. Upon identification, all COVID-19 patients were immediately transferred to another facility for medical isolation and care.
  
  Suggested citation for this article: Njuguna H, Wallace M, Simonson S, et al. Serial Laboratory Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Incarcerated and Detained Persons in a Correctional and Detention Facility — Louisiana, April–May 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 29 June 2020.
  
  mm6926e2-H.pdf
  
  mm6926e2.htm?s_cid=mm6926e2_w
  
  
• Subjects:
  Clinical Laboratory Techniques CoronaVirus Infections/Diagnosis COVID-19 False Negative Reactions False Positive Reactions Pandemics Prisons Public Health Practice Serologic Tests
• Source:
  MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2020; v. 69 Early Release
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana
• Pages in Document:
  5 pdf pages
• Volume:
  69
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:071b1c4bd798422ed8676c606215fd99b22aec22d53fb9dcd3aa33431103b1d7509929edcec05ca1947749536d965a55dc7c77107256ba54f4d89a98e4e35ed4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/89957/cdc_89957_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 122.34 KB ]