To investigate potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on nine common communicable infections, we compared the number of confirmed cases from March 2020 to February 2021 to the same period of the past three years, starting with March 2017. We found that all nine diseases declined during the pandemic, and the general pattern of reduced communicable infections during the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be shared across multiple communicable infections.
For the nine illnesses shown in Figure 1, the decline was generally largest for infections spread through airborne transmission, such as acute bronchitis. The decline was smallest for infections spread through touch, such as chicken pox.
The significant drop in communicable infection cases of multiple types is consistent with other research1,2. The typical seasonality associated with most of these illnesses also was not seen during the pandemic. These factors suggest that the enhanced infection prevention measures in place to combat COVID-19, such as face masks, social distancing, and limits on gatherings, might have played a role in the decline. However, it is also possible that some of the decline represents a drop in the number of patients seeking treatment rather than solely a reduction in the number of infections.
