SARS-CoV-2 PCR and antibody positivity among school staff at the beginning and end of the first school term

Alishaq, Moza; Jeremijenko, Andrew; Nafady-Hego, Hanaa; Ajmi, Jameela Ali Al; Elgendy, Mohamed; Thomas, Anil George; Coyle, Peter; Elgendy, Hamed; Abou‐Samra, Abdul‐Badi; Butt, Adeel A.

doi:10.1186/s12889-021-12134-4

Cited by 3 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Sharing living space with nonfamily members has been shown to be a risk factor for acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection and our data support the previous findings. 13,16,19,20 Presence of symptoms and contact with a confirmed case were independently associated with a higher risk of infection. These findings can help policymakers and public health officials identify a high-risk subgroup of persons who may need to be tested more frequently or more aggressively furloughed to prevent further spread of infection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Sharing living space with non-family members has been shown to be a risk factor for acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection and our data support the previous findings. 13 , 16 , 19 , 20 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All laboratory testing was done at the HMC Central Laboratory according to defined procedures. [12][13][14][15] The laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists.…”

Section: Sars-cov-2 Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Working Women and Impact of Workplace Restrictions

Alishaq¹,

Nafady-Hego²,

Jeremijenko³

et al. 2022

IDR

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Objective To determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection among female workers who were restricted to working from home compared with those who continued to attend in-person work. Methods As part of national surveillance program, serum samples for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing and nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 PCR were obtained on 1636 female school staff and salon/spa workers who were restricted to work remotely (restricted group) and 1190 female health-care workers who continued in-person work (unrestricted group). Results Seropositivity rate was 5.1% among the restricted and 22.7% among the unrestricted group (P < 0.0001). Presence of symptoms at baseline (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.88; 95% CI 2.09–3.97), contact with a confirmed case (aOR 2.34; 95% CI 1.37–3.98), and unrestricted work type (aOR 4.71; 95% CI 3.24–6.86) were associated with a higher risk of infection, while increasing age was associated with a lower risk of infection. Conclusion Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection as determined by seropositivity was higher among women who were not subject to workplace restrictions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Sharing living space with non-family members has been shown to be a risk factor for acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection and our data support the previous findings. 13 , 16 , 19 , 20 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Working Women and Impact of Workplace Restrictions

Alishaq¹,

Nafady-Hego²,

Jeremijenko³

et al. 2022

IDR

Self Cite

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“…This was due to logical instruction pre-enrollment PCR testing for all staff, strict use of masks, physical distancing, and contact surveillance for any detected cases that helped reduce infection during the early stages of the pandemic [ 17 , 18 ]. We and others saw that the prevalence of new infections was low once the school opened, and there were no significant outbreaks during this time [ 6 , 14 ]. Before the school opened, the existence of symptoms, male gender, low level of education, and a history of contact with an infected case were all substantially linked to infection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They included strict mask use and physical distancing policies for all staff, students, and attendants dropping off or picking up students, requiring all staff to have a negative NPS for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR at the beginning of the school year, allowing hybrid learning for students with a maximum of 30–50% attendance on any given day, and requiring hybrid learning for students with no more than 80% attendance. All school workers are required to have full vaccination or present a negative RT-PCR result on a weekly basis, school students should present a negative rapid antigen test on a weekly basis or be vaccinated [ 14 ]. To understand the dynamics of infection among school employees and the effects of variants of concern on that population, 3,241 school staff members were monitored by SARS-CoV-2 for two academic years using RT-PCR or rapid antigen.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 infection in 3,241 School working staffs: Impact of SARS CoV-2 variants of concern [Wild, B.1.1.7 and Omicron]

Alishaq,

Al Ajmi,

Shaheen

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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Background There is debate over whether physical attendance at school affects the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Methods A cohort of personnel from several schools in Qatar provided nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and rapid antigen testing. Each of them was monitored for infection until February 2022. Results In total, 3,241 employees gave samples for analysis. Prior to the start of the 2020–2021 academic year (Group I), 3.49% of samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Most of the positive PCR results were from male, senior, non-teaching staff members. Only 110 (3.39%) employees who had enrolled in face-to-face instruction before the B.1.1.7 variant’s emergence (Group II), 238 (7.34%) after the B.1.1.7 variant’s emergence (Group III), and 410 (12.65%) after the introduction of the Omicron variant (Group IV) had reported infection by PCR test. Most people who tested positive by PCR after enrolling in school were young, female teachers. In the Cox Proportional-Hazards Model, exposure to a confirmed case, the presence of symptoms in the two weeks prior to exposure in all groups—young age in Groups II and III, male gender in Groups I and IV, shared housing in Group III, and the presence of comorbidities in Groups II and III independently predicted SARS-CoV-2 infection in school staff. Conclusion Critical information about the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in school workers during the whole pandemic is provided by our study. School operations in Qatar were made safer through initial and ongoing screenings, as well as widespread vaccination of school personnel.

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Protecting and promoting the rights of the ‘reserve army of labour’: a policy analysis of structural determinants of migrant worker health in Pakistan and Qatar

Hawkes

Evagora-Campbell

Zahidie

et al. 2023

Health Policy and Planning

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Labour migrants who travel overseas for employment can face deep health inequities driven in a large part by upstream social and structural determinants of health. We sought to study the ‘labour migrant health ecosystem’ between one sending country (Pakistan) and one host country (Qatar), with a focus on how the ecosystem realizes the rights of labour migrants when addressing the social and structural determinants (e.g. housing, employment law, etc) of health. Study objectives were to: (1) undertake an in-depth review of policies addressing the structural and social determinants of the health of labour migrants in both Pakistan and Qatar, analysing the extent to which these policies align with global guidance, are equity-focused and have clear accountability mechanisms in place; and (2) explore national stakeholder perspectives on priority setting for labour migrant health. We used a mixed methods approach, combining policy content analysis and interviews with stakeholders in both countries. We found a wide range of guidance from the multilateral system on addressing structural determinants of the health of labour migrants. However, policy responses in Pakistan and Qatar contained a limited number of these recommended interventions and had low implementation potential and minimal reference to gender, equity and rights. Key national stakeholders had few political incentives to act and lacked inter-country coordination mechanisms required for an effective and cohesive response to labour migrant health issues. Effectively addressing such determinants to achieve health equity for labour migrants will depend on a shift in governments’ attitudes towards migrants—from a reserve army of transient, replaceable economic resources to rights-holding members of society deserving of equality, dignity and respect.

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SARS-CoV-2 PCR and antibody positivity among school staff at the beginning and end of the first school term

Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Working Women and Impact of Workplace Restrictions

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Working Women and Impact of Workplace Restrictions

SARS-CoV-2 infection in 3,241 School working staffs: Impact of SARS CoV-2 variants of concern [Wild, B.1.1.7 and Omicron]

Protecting and promoting the rights of the ‘reserve army of labour’: a policy analysis of structural determinants of migrant worker health in Pakistan and Qatar

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