Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in health care workers at a tertiary care academic medical center – An assessment of occupational infection risk - 26/08/21
Highlights |
• | SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity rate in health care workers was low at 1.55%. |
• | Directly caring for SARS-CoV-2 infected patients did not increase risk of antibody positivity. |
• | Use of personal protective equipment is effective in preventing transmission. |
Résumé |
Background |
The purpose of this study was to assess the occupational SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among health care workers (HCW) at University of Kentucky HealthCare (UKHC) by evaluating the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
Methods |
This is a prospective cohort study of HCW at UKHC. SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody seropositivity was measured in a CLIA-certified laboratory utilizing the Abbott Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody assay. Demographics and work type were self-reported by study participants via an emailed survey.
Results |
The overall antibody positivity rate of HCW was 1.55% (5/322; 95% confidence interval: 0.65%-3.71%) at cohort entry. There were no differences in antibody positivity between those that worked directly with SARS-CoV-2 infected patients and those that did not. The antibody rate of positivity of patients during the same time period was similar, 1.8% (9/499; 95% confidence interval 0.94%-3.45%).
Conclusions |
Antibody positivity was low and similar between HCW and patients tested during a similar time period. HCW positivity rates did not appear to be impacted by caring for known SARS-CoV-2 infected patients suggesting that appropriate use of personal protective equipment is effective in protecting individuals from transmission.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Key Words : COVID-19, Health systems, Personal protective equipment
Plan
Conflicts of interest: None: RS, DF, RD, CJ, NL, ED. Dr Berry reports personal fees and other from Salus Discovery, LLC, outside the submitted work. Dr Kolesar reports other from Helix Diagnostic, grants and other from ArtemiLife, outside the submitted work; In addition, Dr Kolesar has a patent Copywrite pending. |
Vol 49 - N° 9
P. 1158-1161 - septembre 2021 Retour au numéroBienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.