Email from Cayley Ingham, Public Health Registrar, Toi Te Ora Public Health, 28 July 2021 Increase in Respiratory Illnesses in Bay of Plenty Aged Residential Care Facilities – an update for Primary Care from Toi Te Ora Public Health We are currently seeing an increase in respiratory illnesses, including RSV, in aged residential care (ARC) facilities in the Bay of Plenty. This comes in the context of outbreaks of RSV across the country. For Primary Care: We would appreciate your help in supporting ARC facilities to follow the below recommendations. If seeing a patient who is a staff member of an ARC facility who identifies they have been asked to have COVID-19, influenza A & B, and RSV testing, we would appreciate your support in ordering these tests. These can all be done on the same single swab used for routine COVID-19 testing. Please write on the form, “Aged residential care, as per Public Health please include influenza A & B and RSV.” ARC staff should be advised to remain off work until they have had negative COVID-19 (and influenza + RSV if tested for) swab results returned and have been asymptomatic for 48 hours. These processes still apply to ARC staff and residents who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza. The latest COVID-19 testing guidelines can be found here: Case definition and clinical testing guidelines for COVID-19 | Ministry of Health NZ ARC facilities have been asked to do the following testing: For ARC residents: Continue to undertake COVID-19 swabs for all residents (as able) who display potential COVID-19 symptoms. In addition, for 2-3 residents per outbreak/facility also add on testing for influenza A & B and RSV. The intent is to do this extra testing on a sample of those who are unwell in each outbreak, to assess for potential influenza or RSV. This extra testing does not need to be done for all unwell residents due to its increased cost. Standard pre-printed COVID-19 test forms (stocked by ARC facilities already) can be used – please write in the comments of those 2-3 residents selected for extra testing: “Aged residential care, as per Public Health please include influenza A & B and RSV.” All of these tests can be done on a single swab as used for routine COVID-19 testing. For ARC staff: All staff with potential COVID-19 symptoms need to have a COVID-19 swab as per usual processes. In addition, a small sample of unwell staff in each outbreak/facility (1-3) should be tested for influenza A & B and RSV, for the same rationale as above. Infection Prevention and Control Follow droplet isolation precautions as per the MOH guidelines, and ensure PPE is in place.
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