ABSTRACT
Background: Monitoring the spread of SARS-CoV-2 has been considered by the World Health Organization (WHO). We examined the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin antibodies in southwestern Iran in spring 2020. The circulation of SARS-CoV-2 is high in the general population, especially among health care workers (HCWs) who are in close contact with patients. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antigen in high-risk occupational and low-risk groups to investigate risk factors for serum positivity in Shiraz, southwestern Iran. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed on 366 participants (204 from high-risk and 162 from low-risk subjects). IgG and IgM antibodies were detected using Pishtaz Teb COVID-19 ELISA Kits to evaluate SARS-CoV-2-antigen in serum samples. After enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), serum prevalence, as well as IgG/IgM positive factors, was determined using logistic regression. Results: From July to September 2020 (a few months after reporting the first case of COVID-19 cases in Iran), out of 366 survived people, 72 (40.9%) were IgG positive, and 50 (27.5%) were IgM positive. The frequency of positive serology for IgG and IgM antibodies in individuals aged < 30 years was higher in the low-risk group than in the high-risk group. Multivariate logistic regression showed that headache (OR 0.312 [95% CI: 0.136 - 0.717]) and cough (OR 0.427 [95% CI: 0.182 - 1.004]) factors were associated with IgG or IgM positive serology. Conclusions: Between July and September 2020, the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antigen was high in Shiraz. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM antibodies in the high-risk group and their family as low risk was shown to increase viral infection due to close contact with COVID 19 patients than in the general population. Several factors were found to be related to the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antigen that needs to be considered by policymakers to determine what to do about the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Background: Given that immunocompromised patients are more at risk for the infection of SARS-CoV-2, epidemiological data are critical for assessing the corresponding prevalence among health care workers (HCWs) and patients at health centers. Objective(s): This study aims to investigate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the staff of two hospitals that take care of immunocompromised patients, including pediatrics and adults with special medical conditions. Method(s): This cross-sectional study includes all HCWs of the two hospitals;Abu Ali Sina Transplant Hospital (AASTH) and Amir al-Momenin Burn Injury Hospital (AABIH) in Shiraz, southern Iran, conducted from April 11, 2020, to June 16, 2021. The TaqMan real-time PCR assay was used to assess the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in the suspected HCWs. Result(s): Out of 1232 sampled HCWs, 694 (56%) were female. Two hundred sixty-five samples (21.5%) and 967 samples (78.5%) were prepared from AABIH, and AASTH, respectively. The results showed that 30% (373) of the clinically suspected employees had positive test results. There was a significant correlation between the risk of exposure to COVID-19 patients and the PCR positivity rate, which could be explained by the fact that 58% of the infected HCWs were in a high-risk group, 20% medium-risk, and the remaining 22% were low-risk (P < 0.0001). The rates of positive cases in females were higher than that among male counterparts (P < 0.05). Conclusion(s): In order to protect health care workers and reduce the prevalence and transmission of diseases, deficiencies must be identified and eliminated. Copyright © 2022, Author(s).
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Bacterial co-infection, especially bloodstream infection (BSI) could be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) infection, demanding a proper empirical antibacterial therapy. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the bacterial etiology of BSI in two groups of patients (i.e., COVID-19 and non-COVID-19) in a tertiary hospital in Iran. Methods: We investigated all bacterial etiologies of BSIs among the patients hospitalized in Nemazi Teaching Hospital in Shiraz, during March 2020-March 2021. Using an automated blood culture system for BSI diagnosis, we detected 919 pathogenic bacteria by standard biochemical methods: 132 in COVID-19 group and 787 in non-COVID-19 one. Results: Totally, 62% and 54% of the patients were male in COVID-9 and non-COVID-19 groups, respectively. In COVID-19 group, 98 (74.2%) were adult and 34 (25.8%) children (under 18 years of age). The age of 147 patients in non-COVID-19 group was unknown (19.2%) and 381(48.5%) were adult and 259 (32.3%) children. As revealed, in COVID-19 group, adults with BSI outnumbered the children (74.2% vs. 25.8%, respectively);however, the difference in non-COVID-19 groupwas less (48.5% vs. 32.3%, respectively), even if all the patients with unknown age in the latter were considered to be adult (528, 67%). The two most common bacterial isolates in COVID-19 group were Achromobacter species (spp.) (24, 18%) and Klebsiella app. In non-COVID-19 group, the most common pathogens were Escherchia coli (89,11%) and Staphylococcus aureus (103,13%). Conclusion: BSI among hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19 infection was more frequent than that among children. It could be explained by the fact that the total number of adult patients with COVID-19 who needed hospitalization is much higher than children. Also, the two most frequently isolated pathogens associated with BSI were different in two groups of patients hospitalized in a tertiary hospital of a developing country, that is, Iran. Nevertheless, the etiology of BSI in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 needs further investigations which could help physicians to choose the most effective empiric therapy in respective patients.