| Issue/Objective |
The current COVID-19 situation with continuous emergence of new variants has affected largely on the aviation system and international travel. Quarantine and proper testing of incoming travelers are considered as the most important preventive strategy so far. However, many unprecedented challenges have been observed at the resource poor settings such as inadequate airport quarantine facilities, lack of highly sensitive but rapid testing and cost-effective management system. In this current study, we present a cost-effective and timely alternative diagnostic and quarantine facility for the incoming impoverished travelers in Bangladesh. |
| Methodology/Approach |
We conducted a cross-sectional serosurvey from December 15, 2020 to November 30, 2021 for inbound travelers from different countries to Bangladesh. These impoverished travelers (unable to afford hotel quarantine) were quarantined in Hajj camp (a government facility near the airport reserved for muslim pilgrims) with full coverage of food and lodging at subsidized cost and free testing by GeneXpert, which is capable of Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) for both COVID-19 and Tuberculosis (TB). |
| Results |
Most of our study participants were male (74.32%) and the predominant age group was 20-40 years (Figure 1). Total SARS-COV-2 positive patients were 106 (7.98%) among 1328 participants out of which 72 were male. The highest infection rate was observed in travelers from Singapore (n=16/71, 22.53%) followed by USA and Malaysia (Figure 2). The result processing time was only 1 hour for the NAAT and 1222 participants (92%) were able to travel to their destinations on the same day. The positive cases were kept in quarantine for further assessment. Majority of the participants (95%) were satisfied with the service and processing time. |
| Discussion/Conclusion |
The current study is a good example of implementation research in resource poor settings. Our study findings support the equitable access to COVID-19 diagnostics for disadvantaged group and emergency preparedness for similar respiratory viral pandemics through optimum use of existing health system resources. Due to high sensitivity and specificity, NAAT is also recommended by WHO for diagnosis of acute COVID-19 cases as well. Therefore, our research also emphasizes on the potential to equip hard to reach laboratory facilities by GeneXpert for both TB and COVID-19 diagnostics specially where the double burden exists which is cost-effective and highly sensitive as well. |
| Presenters and Affiliations |
Farzana Zaman National Tuberculosis Control Program |
