Opportunity of periodic monitoring of COVID-19 patients, asymptomatic virus carriers, and postinfectious individuals with IgM/IgG rapid antibody tests among healthcare workers during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

ABSTRACT

The first Hungarian COVID-19 case was reported on March 4, 2020 by Hungarian officials. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the highest risk of contracting the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), with 12% of total coronavirus cases confirmed among them recently. 80% of the infected persons show only mild, moderate symptoms or stay asymptomatic. The single-stranded viral RNA can be detected by RT-PCR from the respiratory tract, urine, blood and, particulary in children, from stool samples for 30-40 days. We have no valid data of how many HCWs have been infected since the Hungarian SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, due to the lack of the systematic screening. HCWs could play a critical role in transmission and might jeopardize the health of both their patients and their own family members. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal sudies are recommended to evaluate the ratio of the recovered, i.e., "already protected", the ones in the acute phase, i.e., "the infectious", and the virus-naive, i.e., "at risk" workers. Of the available molecular diagnostic options, in addition to RT-PCR it would be advisable to introduce the novel rapid antibody tests which can give quick results, reveal the timeline of the infection, are easy to handle, inexpensive and can be used periodically to monitor HCWs' viral status during the still unkown duration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Orv Hetil. 2020;161(21) 854-860.