Nasopharyngeal Testing among Healthcare Workers (HCWs) of a Large University Hospital in Milan, Italy during Two Epidemic Waves of COVID-19.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 18(16)2021 08 19.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1367823
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
since October 2020, a second SARS-CoV-2 epidemic wave has hit Italy. We investigate the frequency of positive nasopharyngeal swabs among HCWs during the two waves and the association with occupation and demographic characteristics.METHODS:
this is a retrospective, observational study conducted in a large university hospital in Milan, Northern Italy. We defined two epidemic waves 1st (February 2020-July 2020) and 2nd (August 2020-January 2021). Occupational and demographic characteristics of HCWs who underwent nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 were collected.RESULTS:
in the 1st wave, 242 positive subjects (7.2%) were found among 3378 HCWs, whereas in the 2nd wave, the positive subjects were 545 out of 4465 (12.2%). In both epidemic waves positive NPSs were more frequent among HCWs with health-related tasks and lower among students (p < 0.001). However, in the 2nd wave, workers engaged in non-health-related tasks had a peak of 20.7% positivity. Among 160 positive HCWs in the 1st wave who were tested again in the 2nd wave, the rate of reinfection based on SARS-CoV2 RNA cycle quantification value was 0.6%.CONCLUSIONS:
during the 2nd epidemic wave, we confirmed a significant impact of COVID-19 among HCWs. The rise of infection rate among HCWs seems to reflect the increasing spread of SARS-CoV-2 among the overall population.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Epidemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph18168748
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