The impact of COVID-19 on globalization

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Abstract

Globalization has altered the way we live our lives and earn a livelihood. Consequently, trade and travel have been recognized as significant determinants of the spread of disease. Additionally, rise in urbanization and the closer integration of the world economy has facilitated global interconnectedness. Therefore, globalization has emerged as an essential mechanism of disease transmission . This paper aims to examine the potential impacts of COVID-19 on globalization and global health in terms of mobility, trade, travel, and countries most impacted.

The effect of globalization was operationalized in terms of mobility, economy, and healthcare systems. The mobility of individuals and its magnitude was assessed using airline and seaport trade data and travel information. The economic impact was measured based on the workforce, event cancellations, food and agriculture, academic institutions, and supply chain. The healthcare capacity was assessed by consideration of healthcare systems indicators and preparedness of countries. Utilizing a technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) we calculated a pandemic vulnerability index (PVI) creating a quantitative measure of the potential global health. The pandemic has placed an unprecedented burden on the world's economy, healthcare, and globalization through the travel, events cancellation, employment workforce, food chain, academia, and healthcare capacity. Based on PVI results, certain countries are more vulnerable than others. In Africa, more vulnerable countries include South Africa and Egypt; in Europe, they are Russia, Germany, and Italy; in Asia and Oceania, they are India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey; and for the Americas, they are Brazil, USA, Chile, Mexico, and Peru. The impact on mobility, economy, and healthcare systems has only started to manifest. The findings of this study may help in the planning and implementation of strategies at the country level to help ease this emerging burden.

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Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China

Chaolin Huang, Yeming Wang, Xingwang Li … (2020)

Summary Background A recent cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, was caused by a novel betacoronavirus, the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). We report the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics and treatment and clinical outcomes of these patients. Methods All patients with suspected 2019-nCoV were admitted to a designated hospital in Wuhan. We prospectively collected and analysed data on patients with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection by real-time RT-PCR and next-generation sequencing. Data were obtained with standardised data collection forms shared by WHO and the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium from electronic medical records. Researchers also directly communicated with patients or their families to ascertain epidemiological and symptom data. Outcomes were also compared between patients who had been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and those who had not. Findings By Jan 2, 2020, 41 admitted hospital patients had been identified as having laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection. Most of the infected patients were men (30 [73%] of 41); less than half had underlying diseases (13 [32%]), including diabetes (eight [20%]), hypertension (six [15%]), and cardiovascular disease (six [15%]). Median age was 49·0 years (IQR 41·0–58·0). 27 (66%) of 41 patients had been exposed to Huanan seafood market. One family cluster was found. Common symptoms at onset of illness were fever (40 [98%] of 41 patients), cough (31 [76%]), and myalgia or fatigue (18 [44%]); less common symptoms were sputum production (11 [28%] of 39), headache (three [8%] of 38), haemoptysis (two [5%] of 39), and diarrhoea (one [3%] of 38). Dyspnoea developed in 22 (55%) of 40 patients (median time from illness onset to dyspnoea 8·0 days [IQR 5·0–13·0]). 26 (63%) of 41 patients had lymphopenia. All 41 patients had pneumonia with abnormal findings on chest CT. Complications included acute respiratory distress syndrome (12 [29%]), RNAaemia (six [15%]), acute cardiac injury (five [12%]) and secondary infection (four [10%]). 13 (32%) patients were admitted to an ICU and six (15%) died. Compared with non-ICU patients, ICU patients had higher plasma levels of IL2, IL7, IL10, GSCF, IP10, MCP1, MIP1A, and TNFα. Interpretation The 2019-nCoV infection caused clusters of severe respiratory illness similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and was associated with ICU admission and high mortality. Major gaps in our knowledge of the origin, epidemiology, duration of human transmission, and clinical spectrum of disease need fulfilment by future studies. Funding Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission.

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A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019

Na Zhu, Dingyu Zhang, Wenling Wang … (2020)

Summary In December 2019, a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause was linked to a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, China. A previously unknown betacoronavirus was discovered through the use of unbiased sequencing in samples from patients with pneumonia. Human airway epithelial cells were used to isolate a novel coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV, which formed a clade within the subgenus sarbecovirus, Orthocoronavirinae subfamily. Different from both MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, 2019-nCoV is the seventh member of the family of coronaviruses that infect humans. Enhanced surveillance and further investigation are ongoing. (Funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Major Project for Control and Prevention of Infectious Disease in China.)

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Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia

Qun Li, Xuhua Guan, Peng Wu … (2020)

Abstract Background The initial cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)–infected pneumonia (NCIP) occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019 and January 2020. We analyzed data on the first 425 confirmed cases in Wuhan to determine the epidemiologic characteristics of NCIP. Methods We collected information on demographic characteristics, exposure history, and illness timelines of laboratory-confirmed cases of NCIP that had been reported by January 22, 2020. We described characteristics of the cases and estimated the key epidemiologic time-delay distributions. In the early period of exponential growth, we estimated the epidemic doubling time and the basic reproductive number. Results Among the first 425 patients with confirmed NCIP, the median age was 59 years and 56% were male. The majority of cases (55%) with onset before January 1, 2020, were linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, as compared with 8.6% of the subsequent cases. The mean incubation period was 5.2 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1 to 7.0), with the 95th percentile of the distribution at 12.5 days. In its early stages, the epidemic doubled in size every 7.4 days. With a mean serial interval of 7.5 days (95% CI, 5.3 to 19), the basic reproductive number was estimated to be 2.2 (95% CI, 1.4 to 3.9). Conclusions On the basis of this information, there is evidence that human-to-human transmission has occurred among close contacts since the middle of December 2019. Considerable efforts to reduce transmission will be required to control outbreaks if similar dynamics apply elsewhere. Measures to prevent or reduce transmission should be implemented in populations at risk. (Funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and others.)

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): One Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): One Health

Title: One Health

Publisher: Published by Elsevier B.V.

ISSN (Electronic): 2352-7714

Publication date PMC-release: 13 October 2020

Publication date (Electronic): 13 October 2020

Electronic Location Identifier: 100180

Affiliations

[a ]Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA

[b ]Department of Statistics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

[c ]Department of Public Health & Prevention Sciences, Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, OH, USA

[d ]Center for Natural Resources Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh

[e ]Department of Sociology and Anthropology, St Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA

[f ]Data analytics division, Zarrin, Jam Mariana, Tehran, Iran

[g ]Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

[h ]Faculty of Applied Science, School of Engineering, The University of British Columbia (UBC), Okanagan, BC V1V 1V7, Canada

Author notes

[* ]Corresponding author at: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA.

Article

Publisher Item ID: S2352-7714(20)30281-0 Publisher ID: 100180

DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2020.100180

PMC ID: 7553059

PubMed ID: 33072836

SO-VID: b99a54c9-453b-47d2-bf36-da86e772867d

License:

Since January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre - including this research content - immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active.

History

Date received : 21 July 2020

Date revision received : 15 September 2020

Date accepted : 7 October 2020

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The impact of COVID-19 on globalization

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Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19

Most cited references 44

Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China

A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019

Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia

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