SARS-CoV-2 infection among educational staff in Berlin, Germany, June to December 2020.
Euro Surveill
; 27(11)2022 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1753317
ABSTRACT
BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 infections in preschool and school settings potentially bear occupational risks to educational staff.AimWe aimed to assess the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in teachers and preschool educators and at identifying factors associated with infection.MethodsWe analysed cross-sectional data derived from 17,448 voluntary, PCR-based screening tests of asymptomatic educational staff in Berlin, Germany, between June and December 2020 using descriptive statistics and a logistic regression model.ResultsParticipants were largely female (73.0%), and median age was 41 years (range 18-78). Overall, SARS-CoV-2 infection proportion was 1.2% (95% CI 1.0-1.4). Proportion of positive tests in educational staff largely followed community incidence until the start of the second pandemic wave, when an unsteady plateau was reached. Then, the proportion of positive tests in a (concurrent) population survey was 0.9% (95% CI 0.6-1.4), 1.2% (95% CI 0.8-1.8) in teachers and 2.6% (95% CI 1.6-4.0) in preschool educators. Compared with teachers, increased odds of infection were conferred by being a preschool educator (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.6; 95% CI 1.3-2.0) and by contact with a SARS-CoV-2 infected individual outside of work (aOR 3.0; 95% CI 1.5-5.5). In a step-wise backward selection, the best set of associated factors with SARS-CoV-2 infection involved age, occupation, and calendar week.ConclusionsThese results indicate that preschool educators bear increased odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with teachers. At the same time, the private environment appeared to be a relevant source of SARS-CoV-2 infection for educational staff in 2020.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
1560-7917.Es.2022.27.11.2100524
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