Asymptomatic SARS COV-2 carriers among nursing home staff: A source of contamination for residents? - 09/03/21
On behalf of the
APHP COVID 19 research collaboration
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Highlights |
• | We report a screening campaign of asymptomatic staff workers in elderly nursing homes in Paris. |
• | Before the campaign, 12.1% of the employees had developed symptomatic COVID-19. |
• | Among screened employees not known to have the virus, 32/241 (13.3%) tested positive for SARS-CoV2. |
• | Staff carrying SARS-CoV2 were asymptomatic in 75% of cases. |
• | All in all, 66 out of 281 (23.5%) of the home employees had been carriers for COVID-19. |
Abstract |
Objectives |
To show that circulation of SARS-COV-2 in nursing homes in France can come from staff as well as residents’ families, whether they are known or not to have had COVID-19.
Methods |
This study reports a screening campaign of asymptomatic staff working in elderly nursing homes in Paris where the virus had been circulating actively in March and April 2020.
Results |
Before the screening campaign, the rate of symptomatic COVID-19 was 23.3% among the residents and 12.1% among their home employees. Within a 72h screening period, all employees not known to have the virus were screened by RT-PCR in nasopharyngeal swabs. Among the 241 screened employees, 32 (13.3%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR. SARS-CoV-2 carriers and non-carriers did not differ in term of gender, age or type of staff. Staff carrying SARS-CoV-2 were strictly asymptomatic in 75% of cases while during the days following or before the test, 25% presented mild symptoms of COVID-19. Considering both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases, 66 out of 281 (23.5%) of the home employees had been carriers for COVID-19.
Conclusion |
Screening for viral carriage of asymptomatic staff in nursing homes can avoid contact and transmission to frequently severely vulnerable residents.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Keywords : Nursing homes, SARS COV-2, asymptomatic carriers, COVID-19, staff workers
Plan
Vol 51 - N° 2
P. 197-200 - mars 2021 Retour au numéroBienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
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