Prevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in Irish hospital healthcare workers.
Epidemiol Infect
; 149: e157, 2021 04 27.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1203374
ABSTRACT
Hospital healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 infection. We aimed to determine the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in HCWs in Ireland. Two tertiary referral hospitals in Irish cities with diverging community incidence and seroprevalence were identified; COVID-19 had been diagnosed in 10.2% and 1.8% of staff respectively by the time of the study (October 2020). All staff of both hospitals (N = 9038) were invited to participate in an online questionnaire and blood sampling for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing. Frequencies and percentages for positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody were calculated and adjusted relative risks (aRR) for participant characteristics were calculated using multivariable regression analysis. In total, 5788 HCWs participated (64% response rate). Seroprevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 was 15% and 4.1% in hospitals 1 and 2, respectively. Thirty-nine percent of infections were previously undiagnosed. Risk for seropositivity was higher for healthcare assistants (aRR 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4-3.0), nurses (aRR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.2), daily exposure to patients with COVID-19 (aRR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.1), age 18-29 years (aRR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.9), living with other HCWs (aRR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.5), Asian background (aRR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0-1.6) and male sex (aRR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.4). The HCW seroprevalence was six times higher than community seroprevalence. Risk was higher for those with close patient contact. The proportion of undiagnosed infections call for robust infection control guidance, easy access to testing and consideration of screening in asymptomatic HCWs. With emerging evidence of reduction in transmission from vaccinated individuals, the authors strongly endorse rapid vaccination of all HCWs.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Personnel, Hospital
/
COVID-19
/
Antibodies, Viral
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Epidemiol Infect
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
/
Epidemiology
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S0950268821000984
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