COVID-19 among healthcare workers in a specialist infectious diseases setting in Naples, Southern Italy: results of a cross-sectional surveillance study

Abstract

A coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surveillance study was performed in MarcheApril 2020 among asymptomatic healthcare workers (HCWs) at a specialist infectious diseases hospital in Naples, Italy. All HCWs underwent two rounds of molecular and serological testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). One hundred and fifteen HCWs were tested; of these, two cases of infection were identified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and two HCWs were SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G seropositive. The overall prevalence of current or probable previous infection was 3.4%. The infection rate among HCWs was reasonably low. Most of the infected HCWs had been asymptomatic for the preceding 30 days, which supports the need for periodic screening of HCWs for COVID-19.

Increased risks of SARS-CoV-2 nosocomial acquisition in high-risk COVID-19 units justify personal protective equipment: a cross-sectional study

“…Despite an increased risk of acquiring COVID-19 in highly exposed personnal, seroprevalence was low, reflecting efficacy of PPE and barrier procedures, in line with two non-comparative studies carried out in highly exposed healthcare workers ( 3 ) ( 4 ). Most nosocomial COVID-19 infections occurred at the beginning of the lockdown, a period in which recommendations were being fully upgraded and implemented, and extraprofessional acquisition more probable due to the high community viral circulation.…”

COVID-19 infection among healthcare workers in a national healthcare system: The Qatar experience

“…Healthcare workers (HCW) are a particularly high risk group due to their close interactions with infected persons as well as lack or deficiency of personal protective equipment in many settings. The rate of infection in HCW is reported to vary between 3-17% and varies according to the history and degree of exposure and presence of symptoms ( Lan et al, 2020 , Fusco et al, 2020 , El-Boghdadly et al, 2020 , Chen et al, 2020 ). It is important to understand the prevalence and risk factors for COVID-19 infection among HCW due to the potential to transmit infection to vulnerable patients, and since a further depletion of the workforce due to infection among the HCW can lead to critical shortages and adversely impact patient care.…”

High prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among symptomatic healthcare workers in a large university tertiary hospital in São Paulo, Brazil

“…Although several studies already investigated the epidemiology of and risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs in high-income countries, there is a lack of data from low and middle-income countries, where shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), diagnostic tests and other vital supplies represent one of the most urgent challenges faced by public health systems [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”