COVID-19 patients with negative results on initial screening: Experience of Brunei Darussalam

Authors

  • Vui Heng Chong Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam; Department of Medicine, Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah Hospital, Tutong, Brunei Darussalam; Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
  • Justin Wong Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
  • Muhammad Syafiq Abdullah Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam; Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
  • Rosmonaliza Asli Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
  • Riamiza Natalie Momin Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
  • Siti Nabilah Ahmed Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
  • Norhasyimah Tamin Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
  • Babu Ivan Mani Department of Medicine, Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah Hospital, Tutong, Brunei Darussalam
  • Pui Lin Chong Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5365/wpsar.2022.13.1.772

Abstract

In any infectious disease outbreak, early diagnosis, isolation of cases and quarantine of contacts are central to disease containment. In Brunei Darussalam, suspected cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were quarantined either at home or at designated centres and were tested immediately for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. We report on 10 cases of COVID-19 that initially tested negative for COVID-19 and were positive on re-testing after becoming symptomatic. These cases comprised 3.8% of the 266 total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brunei Darussalam as of 9 July 2021, when this study was conducted. All the cases were in quarantine at home and were tested early during their quarantine period. Since then, home quarantine has been replaced by quarantine at designated centres only, with testing on the 12th day of quarantine.

Author Biographies

Vui Heng Chong, Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam; Department of Medicine, Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah Hospital, Tutong, Brunei Darussalam; Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Consultant

Justin Wong, Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Consultant

Muhammad Syafiq Abdullah, Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam; Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Consultant

Rosmonaliza Asli, Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Consultant

Riamiza Natalie Momin, Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Consultant

Siti Nabilah Ahmed, Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Medical Officer

Norhasyimah Tamin, Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Medical Officer

Babu Ivan Mani, Department of Medicine, Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah Hospital, Tutong, Brunei Darussalam

Consultant

Pui Lin Chong, Department of Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Consultant

References

: Salathé M, Althaus CL, Neher R, Stringhini S, Hodcroft E, Fellay J, et al. COVID-19 epidemic in Switzerland: on the importance of testing, contact tracing and isolation. Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20225. doi: 10.4414/smw.2020.20225.

: Hellewell J, Abbott S, Gimma A, Bosse NI, Jarvis CI, Russell TW, et al; Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Working Group, Funk S, Eggo RM. Feasibility of controlling COVID-19 outbreaks by isolation of cases and contacts. Lancet Glob Health. 2020; 8:e488-e96.

: Cheng MP, Papenburg J, Desjardins M, Kanjilal S, Quach C, Libman M, et al. Diagnostic Testing for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Related Coronavirus-2: A Narrative Review. Ann Intern Med. 2020 Apr 13. doi: 10.7326/M20-1301.

: Kelly JC, Dombrowksi M, O'neil-Callahan M, Kernberg AS, Frolova AI, Stout MJ. False-Negative COVID-19 Testing: Considerations in Obstetrical Care. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2020 Apr 28:100130. doi: 10.1016/j.ajogmf.2020.100130.

: Xiao AT, Tong YX, Zhang S. False-negative of RT-PCR and prolonged nucleic acid conversion in COVID-19: Rather than recurrence. J Med Virol. 2020 Apr 9. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25855.

: Wong J, Abdul Aziz ABZ, Chaw L, Mahamud A, Griffith MM, Ying-Ru LO, et al. High proportion of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic COVID-19 Infections in travelers and returning residents to Brunei. J Travel Med. 2020 May 5:taaa066. doi: 10.1093/jtm/taaa066.

: Chong VH, Chong PL, Metussin D, Asli R, Momin RN, Mani BI, et al. Conduction abnormalities in hydroxychloroquine add on therapy to lopinavir/ritonavir in COVID-19. J Med Virol. 2020 May 13. doi: 10.1002/jmv.26004.

: Zhang J, Tian S, Lou J, Chen Y. Familial cluster of COVID-19 infection from an asymptomatic. Crit Care. 2020; 24:119. doi: 10.1186/s13054-020-2817-7.

: Kimball A, Hatfield KM, Arons M, James A, Taylor J, Spicer K, et al; Public Health – Seattle & King County; CDC COVID-19 Investigation Team. Asymptomatic and Presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Residents of a Long-Term Care Skilled Nursing Facility - King County, Washington, March 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020; 69:377-81.

: Tong ZD, Tang A, Li KF, Li P, Wang HL, Yi JP, et al. Potential Presymptomatic Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Zhejiang Province, China, 2020. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020; 26:1052-54.

Downloads

Published

06-01-2022

How to Cite

1.
Chong VH, Wong J, Abdullah MS, Asli R, Momin RN, Ahmed SN, Tamin N, Mani BI, Chong PL. COVID-19 patients with negative results on initial screening: Experience of Brunei Darussalam. Western Pac Surveill Response J [Internet]. 2022 Jan. 6 [cited 2026 Mar. 24];13(1). Available from: https://ojs.wpro.who.int/ojs/index.php/wpsar/article/view/772

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2022): January ‒ March

Section

COVID-19: Brief Report

License

You are free to:

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
  • The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Notices:

When the Licensor is an intergovernmental organization, disputes will be resolved by mediation and arbitration unless otherwise agreed.

You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.

No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>