Risk of Testing Positive for COVID-19 among Healthcare and Healthcare-Related Workers.

Understanding the risk factors associated with COVID-19 infection among healthcare workers is crucial for infection prevention and control. The aim of this study was to examine the risk of testing positive for COVID-19 among a multicenter cohort of workers, taking into account their occupational roles (medical professionals, staff in operational and administrative roles, or laboratory personnel) in healthcare settings. The data analyzed in this study included 2163 individuals with suggestive COVID-19 symptoms who underwent laboratory testing. The incidence rate in the study sample was calculated to be 15.3 cases per 10,000 person-days. The results from the multiple regression model indicated that job roles were not significantly associated with the risk of testing positive. However, age and the duration of the pandemic were identified as significant risk factors, with increasing age and longer pandemic duration being associated with a higher risk of testing positive. Additionally, vaccination was found to reduce the risk of testing positive. These findings provide valuable insights into COVID-19 transmission among indoor healthcare workers, highlighting the influence of age, pandemic duration, and vaccination on infection risk. Further research is needed to develop evidence-based strategies aimed at protecting healthcare workers and preventing virus spread in healthcare settings.

Detección de Toxoplasma gondii en carnes de consumo humano por la técnica de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa en tres ciudades del eje cafetero / Toxoplasma gondii infection of meat for human consumption detected by PCR assay in three cities from the coffee region of Colombia

Antecedentes. Es necesario conocer el grado de exposición a Toxoplasma gondii en la carne de diferentes especies para consumo humano en Colombia. Objetivo. Detectar material genómico de T. gondii por la técnica de PCR en muestras de carne de res, cerdo y pollo obtenidas en Armenia, Manizales y Pereira, con el fin de establecer el tipo de carne y la ciudad en donde es más frecuente el hallazgo del parásito. Materiales y métodos. En cada ciudad se obtuvieron 20 muestras por tipo de carne de establecimientos comerciales clasificados en estratos. Se extrajeron 180 muestras de ADN, las cuales se utilizaron para realizar una PCR anidada (nested PCR) con el fin de obtener una región de 160 pares de bases específica de T. gondii.