PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)
Reduced spread of influenza and other respiratory viral infections during the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Puerto Rico.
Abstract
IntroductionImpacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures on seasonal respiratory viruses is unknown in sub-tropical climates.MethodsWe compared weekly testing and test-positivity of respiratory infections in the 2019-2020 respiratory season to the 2012-2018 seasons in southern Puerto Rico using Wilcoxon signed rank tests.ResultsCompared to the average for the 2012-2018 seasons, test-positivity was significantly lower for Influenza A (pConclusionsMitigation measures and behavioral social distancing choices may have reduced respiratory viral spread in southern Puerto Rico.