SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence among Health Care Workers—A Voluntary Screening Study in a Regional Medical Center in Southern Germany

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with a potentially severe clinical manifestation, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and currently poses a worldwide challenge. Health care workers (HCWs) are at the forefront of any health care system and thus especially at risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection due to their potentially frequent and close contact with patients suffering from COVID-19. Serum samples from 198 HCWs with direct patient contact of a regional medical center and several outpatient facilities were collected during the early phase of the pandemic (April 2020) and tested for SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. Commercially available IgA- and IgG-specific ELISAs were used as screening technique, followed by an in-house neutralization assay for confirmation. Neutralizing SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies were detected in seven of 198 (3.5%) tested HCWs. There was no significant difference in seroprevalence between the regional medical center (3.4%) and the outpatient institution (5%). The overall seroprevalence of neutralizing SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in HCWs in both a large regional medical center and a small outpatient institution was low (3.5%) at the beginning of April 2020. The findings may indicate that the timely implemented preventive measures (strict hygiene protocols, personal protective equipment) were effective to protect from transmission of an airborne virus when only limited information on the pathogen was available.

Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 seroepidemiological investigation among healthcare workers at a tertiary care hospital in Germany

“…Seroprevalence estimates of 1.2% in May/June 2020 and 4.6% in December 2020 found in our investigation were lower than the meta-analysis by Galanis et al reporting an overall pooled prevalence of 8.7% among all HCWs globally as well as 8.5% among HCWs in Europe. In contrast, other HCW studies in Germany have found similar estimates to our study, ranging from 1.6 to 5.1% across varying regions, HCW populations and time periods from March to July 2020 [ 14 – 20 ]. Korth et al found a similar increase in seroprevalence from 2.2% in March–May 2020 to 5.1% in October–December 2020 at a tertiary facility in Western Germany [ 17 ].…”

Assessment of Potential Risk Factors for COVID-19 among Health Care Workers in a Health Care Setting in Delhi, India - A Cohort Study

“…Age and gender of the HCW, usage of PPE and adherence to IPC did not had significant association of seropositivity in our study, while those who had any symptom had lower risk of seroconversion. These are in contrast to study from similar settings in New Delhi observed seropositivity to be associated with male sex (31), while one from Germany observed use of PPE to be protective (35). A study from Spain reported high odds of seropositive among those having any COVID-19 symptom in the previous months, although found no association with profession, working in high risk unit, close contact with a COVID-19 case, comorbidities and sex, partially supporting our findings(16).…”

Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Healthcare Workers of a German COVID-19 Treatment Center

“…Our results are in line with other studies conducted in German hospitals, indicating a low prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies in HCWs [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]. For example, a seroprevalence of 3.5% was reported in HCWs with direct patient contact in a medical center in Southern Germany in April 2020 [ 23 ]. Similarly, the study of Korth et al conducted in HCWs at a German University Hospital reported a seroprevalence of 2.2% in March–May, which increased to 4.0% in June–July and to 5.1% in October–December 2020 [ 24 , 25 ].…”