A Multifaceted Evaluation of a COVID-19 Contact Tracing Program in King County, Washington.

Context: Despite the massive scale of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing (CI/CT) programs operating worldwide, the evidence supporting the intervention's public health impact is limited.

Objective: To evaluate the Public Health-Seattle & King County (PHSKC) CI/CT program, including its reach, timeliness, effect on isolation and quarantine (I&Q) adherence, and potential to mitigate pandemic-related hardships.

Design: This program evaluation used descriptive statistics to analyze surveillance records, case and contact interviews, referral records, and survey data provided by a sample of cases who had recently ended isolation.

Controlling COVID-19 via test-trace-quarantine.

Initial COVID-19 containment in the United States focused on limiting mobility, including school and workplace closures. However, these interventions have had enormous societal and economic costs. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of an alternative control strategy, test-trace-quarantine: routine testing of primarily symptomatic individuals, tracing and testing their known contacts, and placing their contacts in quarantine.

A Population-Based Intervention to Improve Care Cascades of Patients With Hepatitis C Virus Infection.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is common in the United States and leads to significant morbidity, mortality, and economic costs. Simplified screening recommendations and highly effective direct-acting antivirals for HCV present an opportunity to eliminate HCV. The objective of this study was to increase testing, linkage to care, treatment, and cure of HCV.

COVID-19 Outbreak Among Three Affiliated Homeless Service Sites - King County, Washington, 2020.

On March 30, 2020, Public Health - Seattle and King County (PHSKC) was notified of a confirmed case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a resident of a homeless shelter and day center (shelter A). Residents from two other homeless shelters (B and C) used shelter A's day center services. Testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was offered to available residents and staff members at the three shelters during March 30-April 1, 2020.

Design of an Enhanced Public Health Surveillance System for Hepatitis C Virus Elimination in King County, Washington.

Introduction: With the goal of eliminating hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a public health problem in Washington State, Public Health-Seattle & King County (PHSKC) designed a Hepatitis C Virus Test and Cure (HCV-TAC) data system to integrate surveillance, clinical, and laboratory data into a comprehensive database. The intent of the system was to promote identification, treatment, and cure of HCV-infected persons (ie, HCV care cascade) using a population health approach.

Materials And Methods: The data system automatically integrated case reports received via telephone and fax from health care providers and laboratories, hepatitis test results reported via electronic laboratory reporting, and data on laboratory and clinic visits reported by 6 regional health care systems.