The burden of SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers across 16 hospitals of Kashmir, India—A seroepidemiological study
oleh: Inaamul Haq, Mariya Amin Qurieshi, Muhammad Salim Khan, Sabhiya Majid, Arif Akbar Bhat, Rafiya Kousar, Iqra Nisar Chowdri, Tanzeela Bashir Qazi, Abdul Aziz Lone, Iram Sabah, Misbah Ferooz Kawoosa, Shahroz Nabi, Ishtiyaq Ahmad Sumji, Shifana Ayoub, Mehvish Afzal Khan, Anjum Asma, Shaista Ismail
| Format: | Article |
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| Diterbitkan: | Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-01-01 |
Deskripsi
SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has greatly affected healthcare workers because of the high risk of getting infected. The present cross-sectional study measured SARS-CoV-2 antibody in healthcare workers of Kashmir, India. Methods: Serological testing to detect antibodies against nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 was performed in 2003 healthcare workers who voluntarily participated in the study. Results: We report relatively high seropositivity of 26.8% (95% CI 24.8–28.8) for SARS-CoV-2in healthcare workers, nine months after the first case was detected in Kashmir. Most of the healthcare workers (71.7%) attributed infection to the workplace environment. Among healthcare workers who neither reported any prior symptom nor were they ever tested for infection by nasopharyngeal swab test, 25.5% were seropositive. Conclusion: We advocate interval testing by nasopharyngeal swab test of all healthcare workers regardless of symptoms to limit the transmission of infection within healthcare settings.