tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Int J Environ Res Public Health
. 2022 Feb 17;19(4):2319.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042319.
SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Healthcare Workers before the Vaccination in Poland: Evolution from the First to the Second Pandemic Outbreak
Izabela Korona-Głowniak[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michał Mielnik[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Martyna Podgajna[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Ewelina Grywalska[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Marek Hus[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Katarzyna Matuska[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Beata Wojtysiak-Duma[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Dariusz Duma[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Andrzej Glowniak[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP], Anna Malm[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are on the frontline, struggling with the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To describe recent or past infections, the serological assays enabled the assessment of the immune response developed in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the period when testing was hardly available. In this study, we investigated SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in HCWs in a Polish teaching hospital and the Regional Occupational Medicine Center after both the first and the second waves. ELISA-based tests for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG were used to determine immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in volunteer HCWs who worked in those institutions in May 2020 (208 participants aged 47.1 ± 12.5, 88% women) and in December 2020 (179 participants aged 45.2 ± 12.4, 86% woman). Risk factors for seropositivity were also assessed using a questionnaire filled out by all participants. We reported a significant increase in seroprevalence after the second wave (22.9%) compared with the first outbreak (2.4%) (OR 12.1; 95%CI 4.6-31.3; p < 0.0001). An association between IgG seroprevalence and severity of infections was noted. Furthermore, we demonstrated that amongst medical personnel, nurses exhibited a proportionally higher SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence. Moreover, given the high seroprevalence in non-clinical group of HCWs, we suggest that community transmission can play a superior role to workplace exposure.
Keywords: IgG/IgA seroprevalence; SARS-CoV-2; healthcare workers; risk factors.
. 2022 Feb 17;19(4):2319.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042319.
SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Healthcare Workers before the Vaccination in Poland: Evolution from the First to the Second Pandemic Outbreak
Izabela Korona-Głowniak[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michał Mielnik[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Martyna Podgajna[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Ewelina Grywalska[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Marek Hus[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Katarzyna Matuska[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Beata Wojtysiak-Duma[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Dariusz Duma[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Andrzej Glowniak[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP], Anna Malm[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35206504
- DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19042319
Abstract
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are on the frontline, struggling with the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To describe recent or past infections, the serological assays enabled the assessment of the immune response developed in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the period when testing was hardly available. In this study, we investigated SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in HCWs in a Polish teaching hospital and the Regional Occupational Medicine Center after both the first and the second waves. ELISA-based tests for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG were used to determine immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in volunteer HCWs who worked in those institutions in May 2020 (208 participants aged 47.1 ± 12.5, 88% women) and in December 2020 (179 participants aged 45.2 ± 12.4, 86% woman). Risk factors for seropositivity were also assessed using a questionnaire filled out by all participants. We reported a significant increase in seroprevalence after the second wave (22.9%) compared with the first outbreak (2.4%) (OR 12.1; 95%CI 4.6-31.3; p < 0.0001). An association between IgG seroprevalence and severity of infections was noted. Furthermore, we demonstrated that amongst medical personnel, nurses exhibited a proportionally higher SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence. Moreover, given the high seroprevalence in non-clinical group of HCWs, we suggest that community transmission can play a superior role to workplace exposure.
Keywords: IgG/IgA seroprevalence; SARS-CoV-2; healthcare workers; risk factors.