COVID-19 Pandemic
Conditions
Keywords
COVID-19, Thailand, ATK, SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid diagnostic testing
Brief summary
Thousands of migrants from Myanmar have arrived in Thailand for their safety, better living standards and employment opportunities. They are often in Thailand illegally and have poor access to the Thai health care system. This underutilization not only puts their health at risk but may also put the general public's health at risk. During the COVID-19 pandemic, migrants often have no access to diagnostic tests even though global health actors are focused on accelerating access to COVID-19 testing. SARS-CoV-2 testing is one of the most effective and necessary means of mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. The overarching goal of this study is to provide evidence on effectiveness and feasibility of community-based SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) application in the Myanmar migrant community, Tak Province along the Thai Myanmar border as part of test-trace-isolation strategies to fight COVID-19. After the study has been completed, the study team will have evidence to inform policymakers on whether community based SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDT test-trace-isolate strategy is effective and feasible to fight COVID-19 where there is limited or no access to COVID-19 testing in the Myanmar migrant communities.
Detailed description
This study plan to recruit people who are living in the Maramat and Pohphra Myanmar migrant community or returning to community from outside. This study includes seroprevalence survey (secondary objective) at the beginning and at the post-intervention of study to estimate the percentage of people in a population who have antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 by capillary blood collection from finger prick. This secondary objective will be achieved through a substudy. In the substudy, 427 participants will be studied from 7 clusters that will be randomly sampled from the parent study for the Ag RDT arm and similarly 427 participants will be studied from 7 clusters that will be randomly sampled from the parent study for the No Ag RDT arm. There will be two cross-sectional surveys in each of these two arms one at baseline and the other at post-intervention. The aim will be to compare the post-intervention percentage of people in a population who have antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 by capillary blood collection from finger prick between the two arms. The two arms of the substudy will be managed as follows: One arm (Arm 1): Symptomatic /suspected COVID-19 participant or close contact/family members of COVID-19 patient will be tested with Ag RDT and also involve in awareness-raising campaign with mask distribution. One arm (Arm 2): No community based Ag RDT testing but there has routine ATK or RT-PCR test by Thai health authorities if local health volunteer finds symptomatic or suspected COVID-19 or close contact with positive cases in their villages. The participant also involves in awareness-raising campaign with mask distribution. Ten focus group discussion (FGD) with community members will be conducted to find out the attitudes and perception of community members on the use of community based SAR COV2 Ag-RDTs testing in Myanmar migrant community for prevention control of COVID-19 in the study area. The overarching goal of this study is to provide evidence on effectiveness and feasibility of community-based SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) application in the Myanmar migrant community, Tak Province along the Thai Myanmar border for test-trace-isolation strategies to fight COVID-19. After the study has been completed, depending upon the study finding, study team believe that study team can propose to policymakers to recognize the effectiveness and feasibility of community-based SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDT's test-trace-isolate strategies to fight COVID-19 where there is limited or no access to COVID-19 testing in the Myanmar migrant communities This study was funded by The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND). The grant reference number is U-22008
Interventions
DEVICESTANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Test
Device Name: STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Test Manufactured by SD Biosensor, Inc., Korea Purpose: To detect COVID-19 (Its manufacture specification sensitivity was at 84.97% and specificity 98.4%)
Sponsors
University of Oxford
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
For primary objective (Ag-RDT (arm 1) and no Ag-RDT (arm 2)) 74 clusters (37 in each arm) Approximate 5,500 participants in arm 1 and 5,500 participants in arm 2
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. For Ag RDT arm (primary objective) 1. Inclusion Criteria * \*Symptomatic COVID-19 patient/suspected COVID-19 or \*\*close contact/family members of COVID-19 patient * Participant at any age living in chosen clusters of Maramat and Pohphra Myanmar migrant community * Participant or parent/guardian/caretaker is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study. 2.
Exclusion criteria
* Known history of a COVID-19 positive test result within the last 21 days 2. For No Ag RDT arm (primary objective) 1. Inclusion Criteria * Participant at any age living in chosen cluster of Maramat and Pohphra Myanmar migrant community * Symptomatic COVID-19 patient/suspected COVID-19 or \*\*close contact/family members of COVID-19 patient who agrees to go for routine Thai COVID-19 ATK or RT-PCR test * Participant or parent/guardian/caretaker is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study 2.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluate the differences in number of cases detected per 1,000 people between the Ag-RDT and No Ag-RDT intervention arms. | through study completion, an average of 3 months | The number of cases per 1,000 will be estimated and summarised per group/arm and will compared between groups |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Compare the seroprevalence of SAR COV2 antibody between Ag-RDT Arm (1) and No Ag-RDT Arm (2) | through study completion, an average of 3 months | Seroprevalence of SAR COV2 antibody in each of the groups at baseline and at post-intervention surveys. |
| Find out about the attitudes of community members on the use of community based SAR COV2 Ag-RDTs testing in Myanmar migrant community | through study completion, an average of 3 months | Attitudes of community participants towards community base SAR COV2 Ag-RDTs use. |
| Find out about the perception of community members on the use of community based SAR COV2 Ag-RDTs testing in Myanmar migrant community | through study completion, an average of 3 months | Perception of community participants towards community base SAR COV2 Ag-RDTs use. |
Countries
Thailand
Outcome results
None listed