Department of Surgery, Krankenhaus Reinbek St. Adolf-Stift, Hamburger Strasse 41, 21465 Reinbek, Germany.
Institut für Laboratoriums- und Transfusionsmedizin, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen, Universitätsklinik der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Georgstrasse 11, 32545, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Jan;102:136-143. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.10.026. Epub 2020 Oct 16.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes the pulmonary disease coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19, which has challenged health care facilities worldwide. The sustainability of health care systems is largely reliant on the health status of their health care workers (HCW). This study aimed to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus and specific antibodies among HCWs in a German hospital as a model system for the potential spread of the pandemic.
Between March and June 2020, we used a combination of RT-PCR testing to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies among HCWs in a German hospital based on repetitive oropharyngeal swabs (OPSs) and blood samples.
In total, 871/1081 employees participated in this prospective longitudinal study. During the study period of 9 weeks, 5329 OPSs and 2136 blood samples were analyzed. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in three participants (0.34%). Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were detected in 38 (4.36%) participants.
Our study determined a low prevalence of COVID-19 in HCW, which may reflect the effectiveness of hygiene protocols. However, it could also indicate a low prevalence of SARS CoV-2 in hospital employees. Our study protocol may serve as an instructive example for future pandemic containment protocols in hospitals.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）可引起肺部疾病 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19），这给全球的医疗保健机构带来了挑战。医疗保健系统的可持续性在很大程度上依赖于其医疗保健工作者（HCW）的健康状况。本研究旨在检测德国一家医院的 HCW 中 SARS-CoV-2 病毒和特定抗体，作为大流行潜在传播的模型系统。
在 2020 年 3 月至 6 月期间，我们使用 RT-PCR 检测来检测 SARS-CoV-2 RNA，并使用酶联免疫吸附试验来检测德国一家医院的 HCW 中存在抗 SARS-CoV-2 免疫球蛋白 G（IgG）抗体，基于重复的咽拭子（OPS）和血液样本。
共有 1081 名员工中的 871 名参加了这项前瞻性纵向研究。在 9 周的研究期间，分析了 5329 个 OPS 和 2136 个血液样本。在 3 名参与者（0.34%）中检测到 SARS-CoV-2 RNA。在 38 名参与者（4.36%）中检测到抗 SARS-CoV-2 IgG 抗体。
我们的研究确定了 HCW 中 COVID-19 的低患病率，这可能反映了卫生协议的有效性。然而，这也可能表明医院员工中 SARS CoV-2 的患病率较低。我们的研究方案可为未来医院大流行遏制协议提供有益的范例。
