Dataset Information

[Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in employees of a general hospital in Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany].

ABSTRACT:

Background

We assessed the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the staff of a general hospital in North-Rhine-Westphalia in a cross-sectional study.

Method

Employees (n?=?1363) were offered a nasopharyngeal swab and serology for SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, employees completed a questionnaire about preexisting conditions, contacts with SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals and COVID-19-specific symptoms.

Results

1212 employees participated. 19 of 1363 (1.4?%) employees tested positive by PCR (3 within and 16 before the study). 40 (3.3?%) and 105 (8.6?%) had IgG and IgA, respectively, 32 (2.6?%) both IgG and IgA. Overall, 47 employees tested positive. In this group, most frequently reported symptoms were headache (56?%), fatigue (49?%), sore throat (49?%), and cough (46?%); fever was reported by 33?%. SARS-CoV-2-positive employees reported more frequently contact with COVID-19 cases (60.5?% vs. 37.3?%, p?=?0.006). Employees testing positive only for IgA reported less symptoms.

Conclusion

Between 27.04. and 20.05.2020, 3.9?% of the employees working in a general hospital were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. This proportion was lower than expected; possible explanations are the low level of endemic infection and the extensive, uniform in-house preventative measures.

SUBMITTER: Platten M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7920642 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

[Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in employees of a general hospital in Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany].

Platten Martin M Cranen Rita R Peters Claudia C Wisplinghoff Hilmar H Nienhaus Albert A Bach Alexander Daniel AD Michels Guido G

Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) 20210129 5

<h4>Background</h4>We assessed the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the staff of a general hospital in North-Rhine-Westphalia in a cross-sectional study.<h4>Method</h4>Employees (n = 1363) were offered a nasopharyngeal swab and serology for SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, employees completed a questionnaire about preexisting conditions, contacts with SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals and COVID-19-specific symptoms.<h4>Results</h4>1212 employees participated. 19 of 1363 (1.4 %) employees tested positive by PC ...[more]

PMID: 33513626

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Project description:ImportanceSchool and daycare closures were enforced as measures to confine the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, based on the assumption that young children may play a key role in severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spread. Given the grave consequences of contact restrictions for children, a better understanding of their contribution to the COVID-19 pandemic is of great importance.ObjectiveTo describe the rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections and the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in children aged 1 to 10 years, compared with a corresponding parent of each child, in a population-based sample.Design, setting, and participantsThis large-scale, multicenter, cross-sectional investigation (the COVID-19 BaWü study) enrolled children aged 1 to 10 years and a corresponding parent between April 22 and May 15, 2020, in southwest Germany.ExposuresPotential exposure to SARS-CoV-2.Main outcomes and measuresThe main outcomes were infection and seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2. Participants were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA from nasopharyngeal swabs by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies in serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and immunofluorescence tests. Discordant results were clarified by electrochemiluminescence immunoassays, a second enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or an in-house Luminex-based assay.ResultsThis study included 4964 participants: 2482 children (median age, 6 [range, 1-10] years; 1265 boys [51.0%]) and 2482 parents (median age, 40 [range, 23-66] years; 615 men [24.8%]). Two participants (0.04%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The estimated SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was low in parents (1.8% [95% CI, 1.2-2.4%]) and 3-fold lower in children (0.6% [95% CI, 0.3-1.0%]). Among 56 families with at least 1 child or parent with seropositivity, the combination of a parent with seropositivity and a corresponding child with seronegativity was 4.3 (95% CI, 1.19-15.52) times higher than the combination of a parent who was seronegative and a corresponding child with seropositivity. We observed virus-neutralizing activity for 66 of 70 IgG-positive serum samples (94.3%).Conclusions and relevanceIn this cross-sectional study, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection during a period of lockdown in southwest Germany was particularly low in children aged 1 to 10 years. Accordingly, it is unlikely that children have boosted the pandemic. This SARS-CoV-2 prevalence study, which appears to be the largest focusing on children, is instructive for how ad hoc mass testing provides the basis for rational political decision-making in a pandemic.

Dataset Information

[Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in employees of a general hospital in Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany].

Background

Method

Results

Conclusion

Publications

[Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in employees of a general hospital in Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany].

Similar Datasets

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