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Browsing by Author "Tang, Julian W."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    An exploration of the political, social, economic and cultural factors affecting how different global regions initially reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic
    Tang, Julian W.; Caniza, Miguela A.; Dinn, Mike; Dwyer, Dominic E.; Heraud, Jean-Michel; Jennings, Lance C.; Kok, Jen; Kwok, Kin On; Li, Yuguo; Loh, Tze Ping; Marr, Linsey C.; Nara, Eva Megumi; Perera, Nelun; Saito, Reiko; Santillan-Salas, Carlos; Sullivan, Sheena; Warner, Matt; Watanabe, Aripuana; Zaidi, Sabeen Khurshid (Royal Society, 2022-02-11)
    Responses to the early (February-July 2020) COVID-19 pandemic varied widely, globally. Reasons for this are multiple but likely relate to the healthcare and financial resources then available, and the degree of trust in, and economic support provided by, national governments. Cultural factors also affected how different populations reacted to the various pandemic restrictions, like masking, social distancing and self-isolation or self-quarantine. The degree of compliance with these measures depended on how much individuals valued their needs and liberties over those of their society. Thus, several themes may be relevant when comparing pandemic responses across different regions. East and Southeast Asian populations tended to be more collectivist and self-sacrificing, responding quickly to early signs of the pandemic and readily complied with most restrictions to control its spread. Australasian, Eastern European, Scandinavian, some Middle Eastern, African and South American countries also responded promptly by imposing restrictions of varying severity, due to concerns for their wider society, including for some, the fragility of their healthcare systems. Western European and North American countries, with well-resourced healthcare systems, initially reacted more slowly, partly in an effort to maintain their economies but also to delay imposing pandemic restrictions that limited the personal freedoms of their citizens.
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    Mechanistic insights into the effect of humidity on airborne influenza virus survival, transmission and incidence
    Marr, Linsey C.; Tang, Julian W.; Van Mullekom, Jennifer H.; Lakdawala, Seema S. (Royal Society Publishing, 2019-01-16)
    Influenza incidence and seasonality, along with virus survival and transmission, appear to depend at least partly on humidity, and recent studies have suggested that absolute humidity (AH) is more important than relative humidity (RH) in modulating observed patterns. In this perspective article, we re-evaluate studies of influenza virus survival in aerosols, transmission in animal models and influenza incidence to show that the combination of temperature and RH is equally valid as AH as a predictor. Collinearity must be considered, as higher levels of AH are only possible at higher temperatures, where it is well established that virus decay is more rapid. In studies of incidence that employ meteorological data, outdoor AH may be serving as a proxy for indoor RH in temperate regions during the wintertime heating season. Finally, we present a mechanistic explanation based on droplet evaporation and its impact on droplet physics and chemistry for why RH is more likely than AH to modulate virus survival and transmission.
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    A Paradigm Shift to Align Transmission Routes with Mechanisms
    Marr, Linsey C.; Tang, Julian W. (Oxford University Press, 2021-08-20)
    Current infection control guidelines subscribe to a contact/droplet/airborne paradigm that is based on outdated understanding. Here, we propose to modify and align existing guidelines with a more accurate description of the different transmission routes. This will improve the effectiveness of control measures as more transmissible variants of SARS-CoV-2 emerge.
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    The role of SARS-CoV-2 aerosol transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic
    Tang, Julian W.; Marr, Linsey C.; Li, Yuguo; Eames, Ian (Royal Society, 2022-02-11)
    The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, has touched most parts of the world and devastated the lives of many. The high transmissibility coupled with the initial poor outcome for the elderly led to crushingly high fatalities. The scientific response to the pandemic has been formidable, aided by advancements in virology, computing, data analysis, instrumentation, diagnostics, engineering and infection control. This has led to improvements in understanding and has helped to challenge some established orthodoxies. Sufficient time has elapsed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that a clearer view has emerged about transmission and infection risks, public health responses and related societal and economic impacts. This timely volume has provided an opportunity for the science community to report on these new developments.