Competence Centre for Epidemiology and Health Services Research for Healthcare Professionals (CVcare), University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20459 Hamburg, Germany.
Department of Occupational Medicine, Hazardous Substances and Public Health, Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services (Berufsgenossenschaft für Gesundheitsdienst und Wohlfahrtspflege-BGW), 22089 Hamburg, Germany.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jul 7;17(13):4881. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17134881.
We report on the suspected case reports filed for SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 illnesses among health and social welfare workers in Germany. In addition, we report about COVID-19 in health workers in Malaysia. Claims for occupational diseases caused by SARS-CoV-2 are recorded separately in a database of the Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services (BGW). This database is analyzed according to its content as of May 22, 2020. In addition, the notifiable cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections from personnel in medical institutions (e.g., clinics and doctor's office) and social welfare institutions (e.g., nursing homes, shelters and refugee camps) following the German Infection Protection Act are analyzed. The report from Malaysia is based on personal experience and publications of the government. In Germany at present, 4398 suspected case reports for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infections among health and social workers have been filed. This figure is four times the number of all reported infections normally received per year. The majority of claims, regardless of being a confirmed infection, concerned nurses (n = 6927, 63.9%). The mortality rate for workers infected with SARS-CoV-2 is 0.2% to 0.5%. Doctors are affected by severe illness more frequently than other occupational groups (8.1% vs. 4.1%). In Malaysia, work-related infection of health workers (HW) occurred mainly when COVID-19 was not suspected in patients and no adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) was worn. Although knowledge on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections among workers remains limited, the impact appears to be substantial. This is supported by the mortality rate among infected workers. Occupational health check-ups carried out at the present time should be systematically analyzed in order to gain more information on the epidemiology of COVID-19 among HW. Since the supply and use of PPE improved, the infection risk of HW in Malaysia seems to have decreased.
我们报告了在德国卫生和社会福利工作者中感染 SARS-CoV-2 和 COVID-19 疾病的疑似病例报告。此外，我们还报告了马来西亚卫生工作者中的 COVID-19 情况。SARS-CoV-2 引起的职业病索赔在卫生和福利服务法定事故保险和预防 (BGW) 的数据库中单独记录。根据 2020 年 5 月 22 日的内容对该数据库进行了分析。此外，还分析了根据德国传染病保护法，医疗机构（例如诊所和医生办公室）和社会福利机构（例如疗养院、收容所和难民营）工作人员报告的 SARS-CoV-2 感染的通报病例。马来西亚的报告基于个人经验和政府的出版物。目前，德国有 4398 例疑似病例报告诊断为卫生和社会工作人员感染 SARS-CoV-2。这个数字是每年通常收到的所有报告感染的四倍。大多数索赔，无论是否为确诊感染，都与护士有关（n = 6927，63.9%）。感染 SARS-CoV-2 的工人的死亡率为 0.2% 至 0.5%。与其他职业群体相比，医生受严重疾病影响的频率更高（8.1% 比 4.1%）。在马来西亚，卫生工作者（HW）的工作相关感染主要发生在患者未被怀疑患有 COVID-19 且未佩戴适当的个人防护设备（PPE）时。尽管有关工人中 SARS-CoV-2 感染传播的知识仍然有限，但影响似乎很大。感染工人的死亡率支持了这一点。目前应系统地分析进行的职业健康检查，以获得更多关于 HW 中 COVID-19 流行病学的信息。由于 PPE 的供应和使用得到改善，马来西亚 HW 的感染风险似乎有所降低。
