Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in previously undiagnosed health care workers in New Jersey, at the onset of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic

BMC Infectious Diseases

Daniel B. Horton¹  Emily S. Barrett¹  Jason Roy¹  Patricia Greenberg¹  Tracy Andrews¹  Martin J. Blaser²  Jeffrey L. Carson²  Reynold A. Panettieri²  Sugeet Jagpal²  Maria Laura Gennaro³  Jay Tischfield⁴  Andrew Brooks⁵  Nancy Reilly⁶ 

[1] Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health;Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School;Department of Medicine, Public Health Research Institute, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University;Department of Pediatrics, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School;Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University;Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine & Science;

关键词: COVID-19;    SARS-CoV-2;    Healthcare workers;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12879-020-05587-2

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Healthcare workers (HCW) are presumed to be at increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection due to occupational exposure to infected patients. However, there has been little epidemiological research to assess these risks. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study of HCW (n = 546) and non-healthcare workers (NHCW; n = 283) with no known prior SARS-CoV-2 infection who were recruited from a large U.S. university and two affiliated university hospitals. In this cross-sectional analysis of data collected at baseline, we examined SARS-CoV-2 infection status (as determined by presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in oropharyngeal swabs) by healthcare worker status and role. Results At baseline, 41 (5.0%) of the participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection, of whom 14 (34.2%) reported symptoms. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was higher among HCW (7.3%) than in NHCW (0.4%), representing a 7.0% greater absolute risk (95% confidence interval for risk difference 4.7, 9.3%). The majority of infected HCW (62.5%) were nurses. Positive tests increased across the two weeks of cohort recruitment in line with rising confirmed cases in the hospitals and surrounding counties. Conclusions Overall, our results demonstrate that HCW had a higher prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection than NHCW. Continued follow-up of this cohort will enable us to monitor infection rates and examine risk factors for transmission.

【 授权许可】

Unknown