SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Healthcare Professionals and General Population During “First Wave” of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study Conducted in Sicily, Italy

Frontiers in Public Health

Giorgio Graziano¹  Stefano Pizzo²  Maria Gabriella Verso²  Guido Lacca²  Davide Alba²  Sara Palmeri²  Livia Cimino²  Luigi Cirrincione²  Emanuele Cannizzaro²  Alessandra Casuccio²  Arianna Conforto²  Claudio Costantino³  Walter Mazzucco³  Vincenzo Restivo³  Francesco Vitale³  Fabio Tramuto³  Carmelo Massimo Maida³ 

[1] COVID-19 Surveillance Western Sicily Reference Laboratory, Palermo University Hospital, Palermo, Italy;Department of Health Promotion, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE) “G. D'Alessandro,” University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy;Department of Health Promotion, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE) “G. D'Alessandro,” University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy;COVID-19 Surveillance Western Sicily Reference Laboratory, Palermo University Hospital, Palermo, Italy;

关键词: SARS-CoV-2 infection;    COVID-19;    healthcare workers;    personal protective equipment;    traffic control building;    influenza vaccination;    psycho-physical support;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2021.644008

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

On December 31, 2019, an outbreak of lower respiratory infections was documented in Wuhan caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Since the beginning, SARS-CoV-2 has caused many infections among healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide. Aims of this study were: a. to compare the distribution among the HCWs and the general population of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Western Sicily and Italy; b. to describe the characteristics of HCWs infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the western Sicilian healthcare context during the first wave of the epidemic diffusion in Italy. Incidence and mean age of HCWs infected with SARS-CoV-2 were comparable in Western Sicily and in the whole Italian country. The 97.6% of infections occurred in HCWs operating in non-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) working environments, while an equal distribution of cases between hospital and primary care services context was documented. Nurses and healthcare assistants, followed by physicians, were the categories more frequently infected by SARS-CoV-2. The present study suggests that healthcare workers are easily infected compared to the general population but that often infection could equally occur in hospital and non-hospital settings. Safety of HCWs in counteracting the COVID-19 pandemic must be strengthened in hospital [adequate provision of personal protective equipment (PPE), optimization of human resources, implementation of closed and independent groups of HCWs, creation of traffic control building and dedicated areas in every healthcare context] and non-hospital settings (influenza vaccination, adequate psychophysical support, including refreshments during working shifts, adequate rest, and family support).

【 授权许可】

CC BY