Photo Credit: Drazen Zigic
The following is a summary of “Non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce influenza transmission in households: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the January 2025 issue of Infectious Disease by Wong et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to review evidence supporting the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in households to prevent the spread of influenza.
They reviewed studies from 26 May to 30 August 2022 in Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL to evaluate the effectiveness of selected measures in national influenza pandemic plans. Evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) during influenza pandemics and seasonal influenza epidemics was prioritized. Fixed-effects models were used to estimate overall effects. The systematic reviews were registered in the OSF registry.
The results showed 9 NPIs were selected for review, with 9 RCTs identified focusing on hand hygiene and face masks in household settings, 2 studies suggested these measures could delay the introduction of influenza virus infections into households. However, no RCTs demonstrated a significant effect of hand hygiene and face masks in preventing influenza spread within households.
Investigators concluded the within-household measures might be most effective when implemented early in the course of infection, highlighting the urgent need for continued research to strengthen the evidence base for NPIs in both household and community settings.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S120197122400362X
