Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 5(6), pp. 102-105.
ISSN/ISBN: 2582-0931 DOI: Not available at this time.
Abstract: Background: Recent reports have raised questions about the reliability of reported COVID-19 cases in Croatia. Analysis of the firstdigit distribution in a dataset (Benford's law) is widely employed to review data consistency and is used to indicate data manipulation and/or data inconsistency. Methods: The frequency distribution of the first digit of the number of newly reported COVID-19 cases in Croatia (2020/02/26 - 2020/12/14) was analyzed using Benford's law. Additionally, the last seven seasons (2013/09/30 - 2020/01/12) of reported cases of seasonal flu were analyzed. Results: The number of newly reported cases of seasonal flu and newly reported cases of COVID- 19 in Croatia do follow a Benford distribution (P = 0.233). From July 18, 2020 until August 28, 2020 the number of newly reported COVID-19 cases did not follow a Benford distribution (P < 0.05). Interpretation: Our findings strongly suggest that the COVID-19 and seasonal flu data reported in Croatia are reliable. Further analyses are required to explain the disturbance observed in the summer of 2020.
Bibtex:
@article{,
author = {Dragutin Novosel and Robert Zunac and Matija Alanovic},
title = {COVID-19 and Seasonal Flu Data Reliability Analysis of New Cases Reported in Croatia},
year = {2021},
journal = {Acta Scientific Medical Sciences},
volume = {5},
issue = {6},
pages = {102--105},
url = {https://www.actascientific.com/ASMS/pdf/ASMS-05-0931.pdf},
}
Reference Type: Journal Article
Subject Area(s): Medical Sciences