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

Lionel Larribère, Jelizaveta Gordejeva, Lisa Kuhnhenn, Maximilian Kurscheidt, Monika Pobiruchin, Dilyana Vladimirova, Maria Martin, Markus Roser, Wendelin Schramm, Uwe M. Martens and Tatjana Eigenbrod
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Lionel Larribère: Cancer Center Heilbronn-Franken, SLK Clinics Heilbronn GmbH, 74078 Heilbronn, Germany
Jelizaveta Gordejeva: GECKO Institute for Medicine, Informatics and Economics, Hochschule Heilbronn, 74081 Heilbronn, Germany
Lisa Kuhnhenn: Institute of Laboratory Medicine, SLK Clinics Heilbronn GmbH, 74078 Heilbronn, Germany
Maximilian Kurscheidt: GECKO Institute for Medicine, Informatics and Economics, Hochschule Heilbronn, 74081 Heilbronn, Germany
Monika Pobiruchin: GECKO Institute for Medicine, Informatics and Economics, Hochschule Heilbronn, 74081 Heilbronn, Germany
Dilyana Vladimirova: Cancer Center Heilbronn-Franken, SLK Clinics Heilbronn GmbH, 74078 Heilbronn, Germany
Maria Martin: Institute for Infection Prevention and Clinical Hygiene, SLK Clinics Heilbronn GmbH, 74078 Heilbronn, Germany
Markus Roser: Institute of Laboratory Medicine, SLK Clinics Heilbronn GmbH, 74078 Heilbronn, Germany
Wendelin Schramm: GECKO Institute for Medicine, Informatics and Economics, Hochschule Heilbronn, 74081 Heilbronn, Germany
Uwe M. Martens: Cancer Center Heilbronn-Franken, SLK Clinics Heilbronn GmbH, 74078 Heilbronn, Germany
Tatjana Eigenbrod: Institute of Laboratory Medicine, SLK Clinics Heilbronn GmbH, 74078 Heilbronn, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-11

Abstract: To date, more than 160 million people have been infected with COVID-19 worldwide. In the present study, we investigated the history of SARS-CoV-2 infection among 3067 healthcare workers (HCW) in a German COVID-19 treatment center during the early phase of the pandemic (July 2020) based on the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and self-reported previous PCR results. The results demonstrate a low prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection ( n = 107 [3.5%]) with no increased risk for employees with a high level of patient exposure in general or working in COVID-19-confined areas in particular. This suggests that the local hygiene standards implemented in our hospital during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic were effective in preventing patient-to-HCW transmission. No evidence for highly mobile staff serving as a vector for SARS-CoV-2 transmission could be found. In addition, impairment of smell and/or taste was strongly associated with SARS-CoV-2 history.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; epidemiology; infectious disease; health care workers; transmission; infection risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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