tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
World J Pediatr
. 2021 Aug 20.
doi: 10.1007/s12519-021-00447-8. Online ahead of print.
Low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence but high perception of risk among healthcare workers at children's hospital before second pandemic wave in Germany
Marietta Neumann[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Annette Aigner[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 2 [/SUP], Eileen Rossow[SUP] 3 [/SUP], David Schwarz[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Maria Marschallek[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Jörg Steinmann[SUP] 7 8 [/SUP], Ralf Stücker[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Ingo Koenigs[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Philippe Stock[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Healthcare workers are considered a particularly high-risk group during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Healthcare workers in paediatrics are a unique subgroup: they come into frequent contact with children, who often experience few or no symptoms when infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and, therefore, may transmit the disease to unprotected staff. In Germany, no studies exist evaluating the risk of COVID-19 to healthcare workers in paediatric institutions.
Methods: We tested the staff at a large children's hospital in Germany for immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies against the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 in a period between the first and second epidemic wave in Germany. We used a questionnaire to assess each individual's exposure risk and his/her own perception of having already been infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Results: We recruited 619 participants from all sectors, clinical and non-clinical, constituting 70% of the entire staff. The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 0.325% (95% confidence interval 0.039-1.168). Self-perceived risk of a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection decreased with age (odds ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.70-0.93). Having experienced symptoms more than doubled the odds of a high self-perceived risk (odds ratio, 2.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.59-3.00). There was no significant difference in self-perceived risk between men and women.
Conclusions: Seroprevalence was low among healthcare workers at a large children's hospital in Germany before the second epidemic wave, and it was far from a level that confers herd immunity. Self-perceived risk of infection is often overestimated.
Keywords: Health personnel; Pediatrics; SARS-CoV-2; Seroepidemiologic studies.
. 2021 Aug 20.
doi: 10.1007/s12519-021-00447-8. Online ahead of print.
Low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence but high perception of risk among healthcare workers at children's hospital before second pandemic wave in Germany
Marietta Neumann[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Annette Aigner[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 2 [/SUP], Eileen Rossow[SUP] 3 [/SUP], David Schwarz[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Maria Marschallek[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Jörg Steinmann[SUP] 7 8 [/SUP], Ralf Stücker[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Ingo Koenigs[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Philippe Stock[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34415560
- DOI: 10.1007/s12519-021-00447-8
Abstract
Background: Healthcare workers are considered a particularly high-risk group during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Healthcare workers in paediatrics are a unique subgroup: they come into frequent contact with children, who often experience few or no symptoms when infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and, therefore, may transmit the disease to unprotected staff. In Germany, no studies exist evaluating the risk of COVID-19 to healthcare workers in paediatric institutions.
Methods: We tested the staff at a large children's hospital in Germany for immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies against the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 in a period between the first and second epidemic wave in Germany. We used a questionnaire to assess each individual's exposure risk and his/her own perception of having already been infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Results: We recruited 619 participants from all sectors, clinical and non-clinical, constituting 70% of the entire staff. The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 0.325% (95% confidence interval 0.039-1.168). Self-perceived risk of a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection decreased with age (odds ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.70-0.93). Having experienced symptoms more than doubled the odds of a high self-perceived risk (odds ratio, 2.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.59-3.00). There was no significant difference in self-perceived risk between men and women.
Conclusions: Seroprevalence was low among healthcare workers at a large children's hospital in Germany before the second epidemic wave, and it was far from a level that confers herd immunity. Self-perceived risk of infection is often overestimated.
Keywords: Health personnel; Pediatrics; SARS-CoV-2; Seroepidemiologic studies.