Comparison of gene targets and sampling regimes for SARS-CoV-2 quantification for wastewater epidemiology in UK prisons.

Prisons are high-risk settings for infectious disease transmission, due to their enclosed and semi-enclosed environments. The proximity between prisoners and staff, and the diversity of prisons reduces the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as social distancing. Therefore, alternative health monitoring methods, such as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), are needed to track pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2.

The impact of COVID-19 vaccination in prisons in England and Wales: a metapopulation model.

Background: High incidence of cases and deaths due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported in prisons worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of different COVID-19 vaccination strategies in epidemiologically semi-enclosed settings such as prisons, where staff interact regularly with those incarcerated and the wider community.

Methods: We used a metapopulation transmission-dynamic model of a local prison in England and Wales.

Determining the Prevalence and Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Prisons in England: Protocol for a Repeated Panel Survey and Enhanced Outbreak Study.

Background: There are over 80,000 people imprisoned in England and Wales in 117 prisons. The management of the COVID-19 pandemic presents particular challenges in this setting where confined, crowded, and poorly ventilated conditions facilitate the rapid spread of infectious diseases.

Objective: The COVID-19 in Prison Study aims to examine the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in prisons in England in order to inform public health policy and practice during the pandemic and recovery.

Insights gained from early modelling of COVID-19 to inform the management of outbreaks in UK prisons.

Purpose: In this work, the authors present some of the key results found during early efforts to model the COVID-19 outbreak inside a UK prison. In particular, this study describes outputs from an idealised disease model that simulates the dynamics of a COVID-19 outbreak in a prison setting when varying levels of social interventions are in place, and a Monte Carlo-based model that assesses the reduction in risk of case importation, resulting from a process that requires incoming prisoners to undergo a period of self-isolation prior to admission into the general prison population.

Design/methodology/approach: Prisons, typically containing large populations confined in a small space with high degrees of mixing, have long been known to be especially susceptible to disease outbreaks.