Zürcher Kathrin, Mugglin Catrina, Suter-Riniker Franziska, Keller Peter M, Egger Matthias, Müller Sandro, Fluri Michael, Hoffmann Matthias, Fenner Lukas
Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Gesundheitsamt, Kanton Solothurn, Switzerland.
Swiss Med Wkly. 2021 Aug 20;151:w30021. doi: 10.4414/SMW.2021.w30021.
Healthcare workers are more frequently exposed to SARS-CoV-2 than the general population. Little is known about healthcare settings outside of hospitals. We studied the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers in outpatient facilities and retirement or nursing homes in the Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Longitudinal seroprevalence study among healthcare workers with examinations at baseline and 2 months between June and September 2020. The Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG and Liaison/Diasorin SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG assay were used to detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. All participants provided demographic information. We report descriptive statistics and calculated the seroprevalence with 95% confidence intervals.
We included 357 healthcare workers; their median age was 43 years (interquartile range 29-54), and 315 (88.2%) were female. Forty-nine (13.7%) were physicians, 87 (24.4%) practice assistants and 221 (61.9%) nurses. Overall seroprevalence among healthcare workers in outpatient facilities and retirement or nursing homes was 3.4% (12/357). The 12 seropositive healthcare workers were all nurses (12/221, 5.5%); 11 worked at retirement or nursing homes and one at the hospital's outpatient clinic. Symptoms such as loss of smell or taste, shortness of breath, and fever were more prevalent among seropositive healthcare workers than seronegative healthcare workers. No close contact had detectable antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.
Seroprevalence among healthcare workers was low, but higher among nursing staff of retirement or nursing homes. Healthcare workers at private practices were able to protect themselves well during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
医护人员比普通人群更频繁地接触严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）。对于医院以外的医疗环境知之甚少。我们研究了在新冠疫情第一波期间，瑞士索洛图恩州门诊设施以及退休或养老院医护人员中SARS-CoV-2的血清阳性率。
对医护人员进行纵向血清阳性率研究，在2020年6月至9月期间进行基线检查和2个月后的检查。使用雅培SARS-CoV-2 IgG检测法和利雅得/索林SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG检测法检测抗SARS-CoV-2抗体。所有参与者提供了人口统计学信息。我们报告描述性统计数据，并计算95%置信区间的血清阳性率。
我们纳入了357名医护人员；他们的年龄中位数为43岁（四分位间距29 - 54岁），315名（88.2%）为女性。49名（13.7%）是医生，87名（24.4%）是执业助理，221名（61.9%）是护士。门诊设施以及退休或养老院医护人员的总体血清阳性率为3.4%（12/357）。12名血清阳性医护人员均为护士（12/221，5.5%）；11名在退休或养老院工作，1名在医院门诊工作。血清阳性医护人员中嗅觉或味觉丧失、呼吸急促和发热等症状比血清阴性医护人员更普遍。密切接触者中未检测到抗SARS-CoV-2抗体。
医护人员的血清阳性率较低，但退休或养老院的护理人员中血清阳性率较高。在新冠疫情第一波期间，私人诊所的医护人员能够很好地保护自己。
