[Concurrent period] Zhong Yanxu, deputy leader of the on-site investigation team of the Chinese Emergency and Acute Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Team (Guangxi)
Epidemiological investigators, let’s call them “detectives” in medicine. I arrived here (Dongxing) at noon on the 21st (December), and then between the 21st and the 25th, I almost have no more than 4 breaks a day. Hour.
Almost all night on the 23rd.
[Explanation] Epidemiological investigation is abbreviated as flow investigation, which is the traceability of infectious diseases, including investigation of the source of infection, transmission route, and susceptible population. It is also one of the most important tasks to stop the spread of the epidemic.
Recently, Zhong Yanxu, deputy head of the on-site investigation team of the National Emergency Prevention and Control Team (Guangxi) of Acute Infectious Diseases, accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency and introduced the little-known aspect of this key position in the prevention and control of the epidemic.
[Concurrent period] Zhong Yanxu, deputy leader of the on-site investigation team of the Chinese Emergency and Acute Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Team (Guangxi)
The process of tracing the source of an infected person is actually very difficult, but there is a time limit in our circulation report. We must complete the circulation report of a case within at least 24 hours, which must be completed.
If we don’t make a good judgment, we may miss the close connection. If we make a strict judgment, it will cause us to have a heavy workload. If there are one or two cases, then I will make a strict judgment. If there are dozens of cases, If you start the judgment from 14 days, there may be hundreds of close connections for one person.
[Explanation] Zhong Yanxu introduced that although case tracing is a long process, the circulation of cases must obtain the information of close contacts, second-close contacts, and high-risk groups of cases in the shortest possible time, so as to manage and control in time and block the spread of the epidemic to the greatest extent possible. .
[Concurrent period] Zhong Yanxu, deputy leader of the on-site investigation team of the Chinese Emergency and Acute Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Team (Guangxi)
It is a long process to trace the source of this flow, but we must extract his close contact and high-risk groups as soon as possible, identify it, and manage and control it in time. (Because) his close connection is most likely to be the next case. In addition, we must It is necessary to investigate and control his second close connection.
[Explanation] On December 20, 2021, Dongxing City, Guangxi, reported 1 local confirmed case, and there were new confirmed cases in the following 5 days. At present, a total of 20 local confirmed cases have been reported.
A total of 325 team members were circulated in Dongxing this time, including health and public security departments.
[Concurrent period] Zhong Yanxu, deputy leader of the on-site investigation team of the Chinese Emergency and Acute Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Team (Guangxi)
We are investigating a total of 20 confirmed cases this time, and on average (investigating) each confirmed case, there are actually more than 15 people.
If it is a monopoly, at least a dozen or so, if it includes transshipment, the number of people is even bigger (more).
[Explanation] Zhong Yanxu said that every piece of information obtained in the flow of research needs to be corroborated by more than two sources of information to ensure its accuracy.
If the flow adjustment is not thorough and inaccurate.
It will cause the virus to break through and the epidemic will spread again.
[Concurrent period] Zhong Yanxu, deputy leader of the on-site investigation team of the Chinese Emergency and Acute Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Team (Guangxi)
Because we can understand many cases well, you ask him to review the 14-day itinerary, which is difficult. Everyone has information offset and memory offset. Therefore, when we arrange close and second close connections, we often need to call A public security’s Skynet system, monitoring, or a consumption record, or his bus card, credit card record, WeChat payment record, these are one of their (corroborative) basis.
[Explanation] The most difficult part of the flow adjustment is the process of tracing the source. In this epidemic, tracing the source has also become a headache for Zhong Yanxu.
[Concurrent period] Zhong Yanxu, deputy leader of the on-site investigation team of the Chinese Emergency and Acute Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Team (Guangxi)
In fact, every scene of the flow investigation has its own characteristics. For example, like our Dongxing epidemic, the most difficult part of the flow investigation is to trace the source, (a certain new crown patient) he does not tell the truth, and he refuses to tell us the truth. Information, we can’t determine his source.
There is no way to accurately investigate his close connection and sub-close connection. This is our biggest difficulty. We now have 4 methods to deal with this problem. The first is to trace the source of our epidemiological expertise; The other is that we rely on molecular epidemiology, which is what we call gene sequencing. We use genes to synchronize and trace to the source. Where does it come from, how many generations it is, and which generation it is; the third is what we call For the integration of the three public (work), we must combine the big data of public security and industry information to conduct an intersection of his time and space trajectory, trace the source, and the other is to screen; the fourth is that we rely on the masses.
[Commentary] Zhong Yanxu said that winning the war against the virus depends on mobilizing the masses. In the circulation, the masses’ reports also played a key role.
[Concurrent period] Zhong Yanxu, deputy leader of the on-site investigation team of the Chinese Emergency and Acute Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Team (Guangxi)
For example, some people don’t tell the truth, but the people around him are very active. He will tell us that he will report what this person is doing. I happened to have an epidemic in the first month of the year. After the nucleic acid collection, he went back to play mahjong, but he didn’t tell (us) this information when he was in the transfer. In the end, the masses reported that he played mahjong, and then 7 people in the mahjong table (room) were infected. of.
[Explanation] It is reported that the source of infection in the Dongxing epidemic is the Delta mutant strain, which is highly similar to the strain currently infecting neighboring countries.
[Explanation] At present, the epidemic in Dongxing City has been basically controlled within a short period of time, traffic control has begun to be liberalized in an orderly manner, and urban operations are being restored in an orderly manner.
As of December 31, 2021, the Dongxing Epidemic Circulation Traceability Team has completed the on-site circulation of 20 cases, checked more than 6,000 close and sub-close connections, and completed nearly 1,000 circulation reports.
Meng Mingming, Jiang Xuelin, and Chen Yanyou report from Dongxing, Guangxi
Editor in charge: [Lu Yan]