Martin Platten1, Rita Cranen2, Claudia Peters3, Hilmar Wisplinghoff1,4, Albert Nienhaus3,5, Alexander Daniel Bach6, Guido Michels7. 1. Labor Dr. Wisplinghoff, Köln, Deutschland. 2. Arbeitsmedizin, St.-Antonius-Hospital Eschweiler, Eschweiler, Deutschland. 3. Kompetenzzentrum Epidemiologie und Versorgungsforschung bei Pflegeberufen (CVcare), Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Deutschland. 4. Institut für Virologie und klinische Mikrobiologie, Universität Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Deutschland; Institut für medizinische Mikrobiologie, Immunologie und Hygiene, Universität zu Köln, Köln, Deutschland. 5. Berufsgenossenschaft für Gesundheitsdienst und Wohlfahrtspflege (BGW), Abteilung Arbeitsmedizin, Gefahrstoffe und Gesundheitswissenschaften (AGG), Hamburg, Deutschland. 6. Klinik für Plastische und Ästhetische Chirurgie, Hand- und Wiederherstellungschirurgie, Ärztlicher Direktor (in Vertretung für die Betriebsleitung), St.-Antonius-Hospital Eschweiler, Eschweiler, Deutschland. 7. Klinik für Akut- und Notfallmedizin, St.-Antonius-Hospital Eschweiler, Eschweiler, Deutschland.
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. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Authors: Martin Platten; Albert Nienhaus; Claudia Peters; Rita Cranen; Hilmar Wisplinghoff; Jan Felix Kersten; Alexander Daniel Bach; Guido Michels Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-02-19 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Philipp Stüven; Georg Mühlenbruch; Agnes Evenschor-Ascheid; Ellen Conzen; Claudia Peters; Anja Schablon; Albert Nienhaus Journal: GMS Hyg Infect Control Date: 2022-03-01