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Hot Topics of the Day are picked by experts to capture the latest information and publications on public health genomics and precision health for various diseases and health topics. Sources include published scientific literature, reviews, blogs and popular press articles.
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Archived Hot Topics of the Day By Date
Viral genome sequencing to decipher in-hospital SARS-CoV-2 transmission events.
Elisabeth Esser et al. Sci Rep 2024 3 (1) 5768
(Posted: Mar 11, 2024 8AM)
Transmission Characteristics and Inactivated Vaccine Effectiveness Against Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 Variants in Urumqi, China.
Kai Wang et al. JAMA network open 2023 3 (3) e235755
(Posted: Mar 31, 2023 6AM)
Epidemiological impacts of the NHS COVID-19 app in England and Wales throughout its first year
M Kendall et al, Nat Comm, February 22, 2023
(Posted: Feb 22, 2023 6AM)
Contact tracing reveals community transmission of COVID-19 in New York City
S Pei et al, Nat Comn, October 23, 2022
(Posted: Oct 24, 2022 0PM)
Modelling the impact of rapid tests, tracing and distancing in lower-income countries suggest that optimal policies vary with rural-urban settings
R Jiang et al, MEDRXIV, September 8, 2022
(Posted: Sep 10, 2022 10AM)
Context-specific emergence and growth of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant
JT McCrone et al, Nature, August 11, 2022
(Posted: Aug 11, 2022 8AM)
The effect of notification window length on the epidemiological impact of COVID-19 contact tracing mobile applications
T Leng et al, Communications Medicine, June 27, 2022
(Posted: Jun 28, 2022 9AM)
Smartphone apps in the COVID-19 pandemic
JA Pandit et al, Nature Biotechnology, June 20,2022
(Posted: Jun 20, 2022 6PM)
Prioritizing Case Investigation and Contact Tracing for COVID-19
CDC, February 28, 2022
(Posted: Mar 01, 2022 9AM)
Increased household transmission and immune escape of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant compared to the Delta variant: evidence from Norwegian contact tracing and vaccination data
N Jalali et al, Research Square, February 18, 2022
(Posted: Feb 19, 2022 7AM)
Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a UK university identifies dynamics of transmission
D Aggarwal et al, Nature Comms, February 8, 2022
(Posted: Feb 08, 2022 8AM)
Increased household transmission and immune escape of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant compared to the Delta variant: evidence from Norwegian contact tracing and vaccination data
N Jalali et al, MEDRXIV, February 8, 2022
(Posted: Feb 08, 2022 7AM)
Observed serial intervals of SARS-CoV-2 for the Omicron and Delta varaints in Belgium based on contact tracing data, 19 November to 31 December 2021
C Kremer, MEDRXIV, January 30, 2022
(Posted: Jan 31, 2022 7AM)
Effectiveness of digital contact tracing for COVID-19 in New South Wales, Australia
F Vogt el al, MEDRXIV, November 19, 2021
(Posted: Nov 21, 2021 10AM)
Limited impact of contact tracing in a University setting for COVID-19 due to asymptomatic transmission and social distancing
DA Stocks et al, MEDRXIV, November 14, 2021
(Posted: Nov 15, 2021 6AM)
Potential reduction in transmission of COVID-19 by digital contact tracing systems
MJ Plank et al, MEDRXIV, November 2, 2021
(Posted: Nov 02, 2021 2PM)
Factors associated with acceptance of a digital contact tracing application for COVID-19 in the Japanese working-age population
T Ishimaru et al, MEDRXIV, October 30, 2021
(Posted: Oct 31, 2021 8PM)
Contact Tracer’s Interview Tool: Notifying People About an Exposure to COVID-19
CDC, October 19, 2021
(Posted: Oct 20, 2021 4AM)
Vaccine effectiveness against SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission to household contacts during dominance of Delta variant (B.1.617.2), August‐September 2021, the Netherlands
P de Gier et al, MEDRXIV, October 14, 2021
(Posted: Oct 15, 2021 6AM)
Using genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 to support contact tracing and public health surveillance in rural Humboldt County, California.
G Stoddard et al, MEDRXIV, September 27, 2021
(Posted: Sep 27, 2021 7AM)
Contact tracing is an imperfect tool for controlling COVID-19 transmission and relies on population adherence
EL Davis et al, Nature Communications, September 13, 2021
(Posted: Sep 13, 2021 4PM)
Digital exposure tools: Design for privacy, efficacy, and equity
S Landau, Science, September 10, 2021
(Posted: Sep 12, 2021 5PM)
Vaccines alone are no silver bullets: a modeling study on the impact of efficient contact tracing on COVID-19 infection and transmission
DB Raja et al, MEDRXIV, August 30, 2021
(Posted: Aug 31, 2021 8AM)
Adoption and continued use of mobile contact tracing technology: Multilevel explanations from a three-wave panel survey and linked data
L Horvath et al,, MEDRXIV, July 16, 2021
(Posted: Jul 17, 2021 7AM)
Digital contact tracing contributes little to COVID-19 outbreak containment
A Burdinski et al, MEDRXIV, June 25, 2021
(Posted: Jun 26, 2021 7AM)
We investigated whether digital contact tracing actually worked in the US
B Ladyzhets, MIT Tech Review, June, 2021
(Posted: Jun 21, 2021 11AM)
Estimates of cases and hospitalizations averted by COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing in 14 health jurisdictions in the United States
S Jeon et al, MEDRXIV, May 30, 2021
(Posted: May 30, 2021 10AM)
Contact-tracing app curbed the spread of COVID in England and Wales
CJ Wang, Nature News, May 25, 2021
(Posted: May 26, 2021 6AM)
Contact Tracing for Covid-19 - A Digital Inoculation against Future Pandemics.
O'Connell James et al. The New England journal of medicine 2021 5
(Posted: May 20, 2021 9AM)
The first GAEN-based COVID-19 contact tracing app in Norway identifies 80% of close contacts in "real life" scenarios.
H Meijerink et al, MEDRXIV, May 7, 2021
(Posted: May 08, 2021 6AM)
Testing at scale during the COVID-19 pandemic
TR Mercer et al, Nature Rev Genetics, May 4, 2021
(Posted: May 04, 2021 3PM)
Modelling digital and manual contact tracing for COVID-19. Are low uptakes and missed contacts deal-breakers?
A Rusu et al, MEDRXIV, May 2, 2021
(Posted: May 03, 2021 0PM)
Contact tracing apps for the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic literature review of challenges and future directions for neo-liberal societies
A Akinbi et al, Health Info and Systems, April 2021
(Posted: Apr 18, 2021 7AM)
An integrated analysis of contact tracing and genomics to assess the efficacy of travel restrictions on SARS-CoV-2 introduction and transmission in England from June to September, 2020
D Aggarwal et al, MEDRXIV< March 17, 2021
(Posted: Mar 17, 2021 10AM)
Digital proximity tracing on empirical contact networks for pandemic control
G Cencetti et al, Nature Comms, March 2021
(Posted: Mar 16, 2021 8AM)
Anatomy of digital contact tracing: role of age, transmission setting, adoption and case detection
JA Moreno et al, MeDRXIV, March 4, 2021
(Posted: Mar 05, 2021 10AM)
Contact-tracing apps help reduce COVID infections, data suggest
Evaluations find apps are useful, but would benefit from better integration into health-care systems.
D Lewis, Nature News, February 22,2 021
(Posted: Feb 23, 2021 6AM)
Contact Tracing Resources for Health Departments
CDC, February 2021
(Posted: Feb 21, 2021 7AM)
Time to evaluate COVID-19 contact-tracing apps
V Colizza et al, Nature Medicine, February 15, 2021
(Posted: Feb 16, 2021 7AM)
Upping uptake of COVID contact tracing apps
S Toussaert, Nature Human Behavior, January 2021
(Posted: Jan 28, 2021 9AM)
COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Efforts from Health Departments — United States, June 25–July 24, 2020
KD Spencer et al, MMWR, January 21, 2021
(Posted: Jan 21, 2021 4PM)
COVIDTracer and COVIDTracer Advanced
CDC, January 19, 2021
(Posted: Jan 20, 2021 7AM)
Simulating SARS-CoV-2 epidemics by region-specific variables and modeling contact tracing app containment
A Ferrari et al, NPJ Digital Medicine, January 14, 2021
(Posted: Jan 14, 2021 9AM)
Bidirectional contact tracing could dramatically improve COVID-19 control
WJ Bradshaw et al, Nature Comms, January 11, 2021
(Posted: Jan 12, 2021 11AM)
Contact Tracing
CDC, January 5, 2021
(Posted: Jan 05, 2021 0PM)
Modeling of Network Based Digital Contact Tracing and Testing Strategies for the COVID-19 Pandemic
D Xu, ARXIV, December 28, 2020
(Posted: Dec 29, 2020 8AM)
Why many countries failed at COVID contact-tracing — but some got it right
Rich nations have struggled with one of the most basic and important methods for controlling infectious diseases.
D Lewis, Nature News, December 14, 2020
(Posted: Dec 14, 2020 8AM)
Extinction of COVID-19 Clusters in a Lebanese Village: A Quick, Adapted Molecular and Contact tracing
A Chamieh et al, MEDRXIV, November 30, 2020
(Posted: Nov 30, 2020 2PM)
Effective control of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Wanzhou, China
Q Shi et al, Nature Medicine, November 30, 2020
(Posted: Nov 30, 2020 10AM)
Transmission heterogeneities, kinetics, and controllability of SARS-CoV-2
K sun et al, Science, November 24, 2020
(Posted: Nov 24, 2020 1PM)
Implementation of a Pooled Surveillance Testing Program for Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections on a College Campus — Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, August 2–October 11, 2020
TN Denny et al, MMWR, November 17, 2020
(Posted: Nov 18, 2020 11AM)
Belief of having had unconfirmed Covid-19 infection reduces willingness to participate in app-based contact tracing
P Bachtiger et al, NPJ Digital Medicine, November 6, 2020
(Posted: Nov 06, 2020 8AM)
Digital contact-tracing during the Covid-19 pandemic: an analysis of newspaper coverage in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
J Amann et al, MEDRXIV, October 26, 2020
(Posted: Oct 28, 2020 8AM)
Risk estimation of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from bluetooth low energy measurements
F Sattler et al, NPJ Digital Medicine, October 6, 2020
(Posted: Oct 06, 2020 8AM)
Early Evidence of Effectiveness of Digital Contact Tracing for SARS-CoV-2 in Switzerland
M Salathe et al, MEDRXIV, October 4, 2020
(Posted: Oct 05, 2020 1PM)
Predicting public take-up of digital contact tracing during the COVID-19 crisis: Results of a national survey
YE Saw et al, MEDRXIV, October 5, 2020
(Posted: Oct 05, 2020 1PM)
Early Evidence of Effectiveness of Digital Contact Tracing for SARS-CoV-2 in Switzerland
M Salathe et al, MEDRXIV, September 19, 2020
(Posted: Sep 21, 2020 9AM)
Leveraging pathogen sequence and contact tracing data to enhance vaccine trials in emerging epidemics
R Kahn et al, MEDRXIV, September 16, 2020
(Posted: Sep 18, 2020 8AM)
Clustering and superspreading potential of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Hong Kong
DC Adam et al, Nature Medicine, September 17, 2020
(Posted: Sep 17, 2020 9AM)
The impact of digital contact tracing on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic - a comprehensive modelling study
TR Pollman et al, MEDRXIV, September 14, 2020
(Posted: Sep 15, 2020 7AM)
Automated Contact Tracing: a game of big numbers in the time of COVID-19
H Kim et al, MEDRXIV, September 13, 2020
(Posted: Sep 14, 2020 7AM)
Automatic Contact Tracing for Outbreak Detection Using Hospital Electronic Medical Record Data
ME Dewitt, MEDRXIV, September 134, 2020
(Posted: Sep 13, 2020 10AM)
Prevalence of Third-Party Tracking on COVID-19–Related Web Pages
MS McCoy et al JAMA, September 8, 2020
(Posted: Sep 08, 2020 11AM)
"A Menace to the Public Health" - Contact Tracing and the Limits of Persuasion.
Mooney Graham et al. The New England journal of medicine 2020 Sep
(Posted: Sep 03, 2020 7AM)
Potential reduction in transmission of COVID-19 by digital contact tracing systems
MJ Plank et al, MEDRXIV, September 1, 2020
(Posted: Sep 02, 2020 9AM)
Towards a digital solution: Predicting public take-up of Singapore′s contact tracing application during the COVID-19 crisis
YE Saw et al, MEDRXIV, September 1, 2020
(Posted: Sep 01, 2020 10AM)
Modeling Contact Tracing Strategies for COVID-19 in the Context of Relaxed Physical Distancing Measures
A Bilinski et al JAMA Network Open, August 21, 2020
(Posted: Aug 21, 2020 0PM)
Widespread testing, case isolation and contact tracing may allow safe school reopening with continued moderate physical distancing: a modeling analysis of King County, WA data
C Bracis et al, MEDRXIV, August 16, 2020
(Posted: Aug 16, 2020 7AM)
Modelling the impact of testing, contact tracing and household quarantine on second waves of COVID-19
A Aleta et al, Nature Human Behavior, August 5, 2020
(Posted: Aug 07, 2020 9AM)
Characteristics and Outcomes of Contacts of COVID-19 Patients Monitored Using an Automated Symptom Monitoring Tool — Maine, May–June 2020
A Krueger et al, MMWR, August 3, 2020
(Posted: Aug 03, 2020 2PM)
Engineering Better Medicine for Public Health Crises and the Future
RI Pettigrew, National Academy of Medicine, July 27, 2020
(Posted: Jul 27, 2020 2PM)
Anatomy of digital contact tracing: role of age, transmission setting, adoption and case detection
JA Moreno Lopez et al, MEDRXIV, July 25, 2020
(Posted: Jul 26, 2020 11AM)
Contact Tracing: An Overview of Technologies and Cyber Risks
F Legendre et al, ARXIV, July 6, 2020
(Posted: Jul 09, 2020 9AM)
Decentralized Blockchain for Privacy-Preserving Large-Scale Contact Tracing
W Lv et al, ARXIV, July 2, 2020
(Posted: Jul 04, 2020 8AM)
Applications of digital technology in COVID-19 pandemic planning and response
S Whitelaw et al, Lancet Digital Health, June 29, 2020
(Posted: Jun 30, 2020 8AM)
A Survey of COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps
N Ahmed et al, ARXIV June 18, 2020
(Posted: Jun 22, 2020 8AM)
Digital Contact Tracing Using IP Colocation
M Malloy et al, ARXIV, June 16, 2020
(Posted: Jun 18, 2020 8AM)
The need for privacy with public digital contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Y Bengio et al, Lancet Digital Health, June 2, 2020
(Posted: Jun 03, 2020 7AM)
Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
DK Chu et al, The Lancet, June 1, 2020
(Posted: Jun 02, 2020 6AM)
Ethical guidelines for COVID-19 tracing apps-Protect privacy, equality and fairness in digital contact tracing with these key questions.
J Morley et al, Nature, News May 28, 2020
(Posted: May 30, 2020 7AM)
How countries are using genomics to help avoid a second coronavirus wave
C Watson, Nature News, May 27, 2020
(Posted: May 29, 2020 10AM)
COVID-19 and Your Smartphone: BLE-based Smart Contact Tracing
PC Ng et al ARXIV, May 28, 2020
(Posted: May 29, 2020 7AM)
CoVista: A Unified View on Privacy Sensitive Mobile Contact Tracing Effort
D Culler et al, ARXIV, May 27, 2020
(Posted: May 28, 2020 8AM)
Automated and partially-automated contact tracing: a rapid systematic review to inform the control of COVID-19
I Braithwaite et al, MEDRXIV, May 28, 2020
(Posted: May 28, 2020 7AM)
Digital Smartphone Tracking for COVID-19- Public Health and Civil Liberties in Tension
IG Cohen et al, JAMA, may 27, 2020
(Posted: May 27, 2020 0PM)
Reproducing SARS-CoV-2 epidemics by region-specific variables and modeling contact tracing App containment
A Ferrari et al, MEDRXIV, May 19, 2020
(Posted: May 19, 2020 8AM)
Nearly 40% of Icelanders are using a covid app—and it hasn’t helped much- The country has the highest penetration of any automated contact tracing app in the world, but one senior figure says it “wasn’t a game changer.”
M Johnson, MIT Tech Review, May 11, 2020
(Posted: May 13, 2020 10AM)
Ethics and governance for digital disease surveillance
MM Mello et al, Science, May 11, 2020
(Posted: May 12, 2020 9PM)
Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 transmission suggests epidemic control with digital contact tracing
L Ferretti et al, Science, May 8, 2020
(Posted: May 08, 2020 1PM)
CDC launches national viral genomics consortium to better map SARS-CoV-2 transmission
CDC Press Release, May 1, 2020
(Posted: May 04, 2020 5PM)
SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing for Public Health Emergency Response, Epidemiology, and Surveillance (SPHERES)
CDC, May 1, 2020
(Posted: May 01, 2020 10AM)
Show evidence that apps for COVID-19 contact-tracing are secure and effective
Nature editorial, April 29, 2020
(Posted: Apr 30, 2020 9AM)
An army of virus tracers takes shape in Massachusetts.
E Barry, NY Times, April 16, 2020
(Posted: Apr 16, 2020 7AM)
Evaluating the effectiveness of social distancing interventions against COVID-19
L Matrajt et al, MEDRXIV, March 30, 2020
(Posted: Mar 30, 2020 8AM)
Europe eyes smartphone location data to slow virus spread
PBS, March 23, 2020
(Posted: Mar 24, 2020 7AM)
Cellphone tracking could help stem the spread of coronavirus. Is privacy the price?
Science, March 22, 2020
(Posted: Mar 22, 2020 3PM)
Disclaimer: Articles listed in Hot Topics of the Day are selected by Public Health Genomics Branch to provide current awareness of the scientific literature and news. Inclusion in the update does not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor does it imply endorsement of the article's methods or findings. CDC and DHHS assume no responsibility for the factual accuracy of the items presented. The selection, omission, or content of items does not imply any endorsement or other position taken by CDC or DHHS. Opinion, findings and conclusions expressed by the original authors of items included in the Clips, or persons quoted therein, are strictly their own and are in no way meant to represent the opinion or views of CDC or DHHS. References to publications, news sources, and non-CDC Websites are provided solely for informational purposes and do not imply endorsement by CDC or DHHS.
- Page last reviewed:Feb 1, 2024
- Page last updated:May 18, 2024
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