The importance of contact tracing

Writer: De Waal Steyn.

With several members of our law enforcement agencies now self-isolating after having been in contact with SAPS Hermanus Station Commander, Col Luthando Nosilela, who contracted COVID-19, many people are asking: how does contact tracing work?

According to The Conversation, this form of tracing people who have been in contact with someone who is infected with a transmittable disease was first used almost a century ago to limit the spread of sexually transmitted infections from and to American troops, and has since been a pillar of communicable disease control in public health.

The eradication of smallpox, for example, was achieved not by universal immunisation, but by exhaustive contact tracing, followed by isolation of infected individuals and immunisation of the surrounding community and contacts at risk of contracting smallpox.

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 2)