1Chemical Pathology Department, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
2Medicine Department, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021 Jan;104(1):91-94. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-1235.
Global health has been thrown into turmoil by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused devastating morbidity and unprecedented loss of life in almost all continents of the world. It was predicted that the magnitude of the pandemic in Africa will be high because of poor health structure and intensely poor living condition, but that has not happened, surprisingly. It was hypothesized that the youthful population and a vastly primed immune system were protective, and many people may have been exposed without coming down with the severe disease. Most of them would have presented in hospitals with other medical conditions and possibly transmit COVID-19 to health workers inadvertently. This study is designed to measure serum SARS-CoV-2 IgG levels in health workers as a marker of latent exposure. Asymptomatic frontline health workers were randomly selected from the University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria; venous blood samples were obtained from them, and the serum SARS-CoV-2 IgG level was determined using ELISA techniques. A proportion of participants with seropositivity were obtained, and factors associated with seropositivity were determined. A total of 133 participants were recruited for this study, and 60 (45.1%) of them were seropositive for SARS-CoV-2. Among the seropositive participants were doctors, nurses, health assistants, laboratory scientists and technicians, and nonmedical staff. Obstetrics, gynecology, and emergency departments had higher odds of seropositivity. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 is very high among frontline health workers, though asymptomatic. This calls for a more stringent precaution against further spread within the hospital environment.
全球卫生因 COVID-19 大流行而陷入混乱，这场大流行几乎在世界所有大陆造成了毁灭性的发病率和前所未有的生命损失。有人预测，由于卫生结构差和生活条件极差，非洲的大流行规模将会很大，但令人惊讶的是，情况并非如此。有人假设，年轻的人口和高度成熟的免疫系统具有保护作用，许多人可能已经接触过这种严重疾病而没有发病。他们中的大多数人会因其他医疗条件而住进医院，并可能无意中将 COVID-19 传染给卫生工作者。本研究旨在测量卫生工作者血清中 SARS-CoV-2 IgG 水平，作为潜在暴露的标志物。从尼日利亚伊巴丹大学教学医院随机选择无症状的一线卫生工作者；从他们身上抽取静脉血样，并使用 ELISA 技术测定血清 SARS-CoV-2 IgG 水平。获得了一定比例的血清阳性参与者，并确定了与血清阳性相关的因素。这项研究共招募了 133 名参与者，其中 60 名（45.1%）对 SARS-CoV-2 呈血清阳性。血清阳性参与者包括医生、护士、卫生助理、实验室科学家和技术人员以及非医务人员。妇产科和急诊科的血清阳性率更高。尽管无症状，但一线卫生工作者中 SARS-CoV-2 的血清阳性率非常高。这需要在医院环境中采取更严格的预防措施来防止进一步传播。
