The art of contact tracing

We’ve talked about tests, we’ve talked about masks, we’ve talked about protecting the “at-risk” population ad nauseum, but with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases going up in Shoshone County it’s time to discuss the process of contact tracing.

Contact tracing is the process of gathering information from a known infected person to track the people and places that they have come in contact with.

By tracing the contacts of an infected person, health officials have the ability to potentially get ahead of a possible infection, test the contacts for infection, get those affected isolated, and possibly reduce the number of infections in a community.

This is by no means an easy mission for those who have been tasked with gathering the information, in fact it may be one of the most difficult due to the need for people to be transparent and honest about their contacts.

Val Wade, an outreach coordinator for Panhandle Health’s Institutional Controls Program has had to split her time between her regular job with PHD and helping with the contact tracing of the positive cases in Shoshone County.

It hasn’t been easy for Wade either, who is getting a crash course in the insecurities of her neighboring residents.

“When you call someone and ask them personal questions, the knee-jerk reaction these days is to not divulge information,” Wade said. “ But this is an educational tool for us and the person we’re talking to because it can help us assess the severity of the situation, as well as help them find the resources they need.”

To understand the goals of contact tracing, one must really look at the process itself and hopefully it will eliminate any misconceptions about the process itself.

According to Wade, her process surrounds a series of questions, some more simple than others, but all of them important to the process.

The usual order kicks off with confirming the name, age and residence of a patient.

Should the patient be a minor, Wade would speak to the child’s parent or guardian.

After those initial questions, the focus shifts to infection itself.

Patients are asked about the symptoms they are experiencing or have experienced, as well as how they are currently feeling, including their current temperature and whether or not they were/are hospitalized.

Current information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) claims that infected people are at their most contagious roughly two days before they themselves begin to show symptoms.

With that in mind, Wade then has to begin really probing the situation, including finding out the patient’s place of employment and any traveling that they may have done (within two weeks of the onset of symptoms).

This information is vital, not just for the process of contact tracing, but also for the community in which the infected person is residing.

“From there, we try to create a timeline,” Wade said. “We go back two days from when you began showing symptoms and where you were during those two days. When people can’t or won’t give us accurate information during these questions, then we have what’s called community spread.”

After that, it’s up to Wade and PHD’s epidemiologists to follow up with any of the major venues where a person may have been (i.e. work, school, church and day care).

The process surrounding contact tracing may feel intrusive, and may even be embarrassing for a person to have to vocalize, but the vital information is kept confidential as health officials work tirelessly to gain control on this pandemic.