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Review
. 2020 Jun 23:94:e202006067.

[Digital surveillance tools for contact tracking of infected persons by SARS-CoV-2]

[Article in Spanish]
Juan Jesús García-Iglesias  1   2 , Jorge Martín-Pereira  3 , Javier Fagundo-Rivera  4   5 , Juan Gómez-Salgado  1   6
Affiliations
Review

[Digital surveillance tools for contact tracking of infected persons by SARS-CoV-2]

[Article in Spanish]
Juan Jesús García-Iglesias et al. Rev Esp Salud Publica. .

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Background: In times of pandemic, case management and tracking people with contact can be differential elements for controlling the spread. The objective of this review was to evaluate the digital tools used to track contacts of people infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: A systematic exploratory review was conducted in the electronic databases Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science on May 29, 2020 through the descriptors: coronavirus, digital surveillance and contact tracing. A total of 11 studies were finally selected.

Results: The results showed that some countries are implementing digital tools for contact tracking through mobile apps that allow user data to be shared via the device's GPS and/or Bluetooth. The terms on the privacy and confidentiality of the population data are, in some cases, questionable.

Conclusions: The use of digital surveillance tools to track contacts of people infected with an infectious disease, such as SARS-CoV-2, can be key to reducing the number of people infected and reducing the spread of the virus.

Objetivo: En tiempos de pandemia, la gestión de casos y el rastreo de contactos pueden ser elementos diferenciales para el control de la propagación de la misma. El objetivo de esta revisión fue evaluar las herramientas digitales empleadas para el rastreo de contactos de personas contagiadas de SARS-CoV-2.

Metodos: Se realizó una revisión sistemática exploratoria en las bases de datos electrónicas Pubmed, Scopus y Web of Science el día 29 de mayo de 2020 a través de los descriptores: coronavirus, digital surveillance y contact tracing. Se seleccionaron finalmente un total de 11 estudios.

Resultados: Los resultados mostraron cómo algunos países están implantando herramientas digitales para el rastreo de contactos a través de aplicaciones para móviles, las cuales permiten compartir datos de los usuarios a través del GPS y/o Bluetooth del dispositivo. Los términos sobre la privacidad y confidencialidad de los datos de la población están, en algunos casos, en entredicho.

Conclusiones: El uso de herramientas de vigilancia digital para el rastreo de contactos de personas contagiadas de una enfermedad infecciosa, como la provocada por el SARS-CoV-2, puede ser capital para reducir el número de personas infectadas y reducir la propagación del virus.

Keywords: Communicable disease control; Contact tracing; Covid-19; Epidemiological monitoring; Medical informatics applications; Public health; Spain.

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Conflict of interest statement

Los autores declaran que no existe ningún conflicto de interés.

Figures

Figura 1
Figura 1. Resultados de la búsqueda (Diagrama de flujo - PRISMA) , .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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