Utility of prehospital call center ambulance dispatch data for COVID-19 cluster surveillance: A retrospective analysis.

Introduction: Cluster surveillance, identification, and containment are primary outbreak management techniques; however, adapting these for low- and middle-income countries is an ongoing challenge. We aimed to evaluate the utility of prehospital call center ambulance dispatch (CCAD) data for surveillance by examining the correlation between influenza-like illness (ILI)-related dispatch calls and COVID-19 cases.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of state-level CCAD and COVID-19 data recorded between January 1 and April 30, 2020, in Telangana, India.