Rahman Khan Mohammad Jahidur, Shumu Samshad Jahan, Mim Farzana, Raihan Ruksana, Mannan Nusrat, Reza Md Selim, Khan Nazia Hasan, Akram Arifa, Bhuiyan Amirul Huda, Deb Paroma
Department of Microbiology, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College, Dhaka, BGD.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, BGD.
Cureus. 2022 Apr 17;14(4):e24217. doi: 10.7759/cureus.24217. eCollection 2022 Apr.
Healthcare workers (HCWs) at the frontline are confronting a substantial risk of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This emerging virus created specific hazards to researchers and laboratory staff in a clinical setting, underlined by rapid and extensive worldwide transmission.
This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) laboratory health workers in Bangladesh.
This retrospective study was conducted between October 2 to December 2, 2020. A total of 508 participants, including doctors, scientific officers, medical technologists, and cleaners working in several COVID-19 RT-PCR laboratories, were included in this study. Data were collected from each participant using a semi-structured questionnaire prepared in the format of an anonymous Google form. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS, version 25.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).
Out of the 508 participants, 295 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR. Among the positive cases, 202 were men, and 93 were women, with a median age of 30 years. The most positive cases were medical technologists (53.22%) followed by doctors (28.8%). Out of the 271 symptomatic positive cases, the most typical symptoms were fever (78.5%), fatigue (70%), loss of smell and taste (65%), and cough (64%). Hypertension, obesity, and diabetes were found in 8.8%, 8.8%, and 7.1% positive cases. A + blood group was present in 37% of the positive cases, followed by the B+ blood group (27%) and O+ blood group (25%). Inadequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), absence of negative pressure ventilation, laboratory contamination, and no training on molecular test methods were found in 13.8%, 67.8%, 44.7%, and 40.6% of positive cases, respectively.
Evaluating the infection status of laboratory HCWs is crucial for drawing attention from the public, providing practical suggestions for government agencies, and increasing protective measures for laboratory HCWs.
在新型冠状病毒肺炎大流行期间，一线医护人员面临着巨大的感染风险。这种新出现的病毒给临床环境中的研究人员和实验室工作人员带来了特殊危害，全球范围内的快速广泛传播凸显了这一点。
本研究旨在调查孟加拉国新型冠状病毒肺炎逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）实验室医护人员中严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）感染的患病率。
本回顾性研究于2020年10月2日至12月2日进行。共有508名参与者纳入本研究，包括在多个新型冠状病毒肺炎RT-PCR实验室工作的医生、科学官员、医学技术人员和清洁工。使用以匿名谷歌表单格式编制的半结构化问卷从每位参与者收集数据。所有统计分析均使用SPSS 25.0版（SPSS公司，美国伊利诺伊州芝加哥）进行。
在508名参与者中，295人SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR检测呈阳性。在阳性病例中，男性202人，女性93人，中位年龄为30岁。阳性病例最多的是医学技术人员（53.22%），其次是医生（28.8%）。在271例有症状的阳性病例中，最常见的症状是发热（78.5%）、疲劳（70%）、嗅觉和味觉丧失（65%）以及咳嗽（64%）。在阳性病例中，高血压、肥胖和糖尿病的发生率分别为8.8%、8.8%和7.1%。阳性病例中37%为A+血型，其次是B+血型（27%）和O+血型（25%）。分别有13.8%、67.8%、44.7%和40.6%的阳性病例存在个人防护装备（PPE）供应不足、无负压通风、实验室污染以及缺乏分子检测方法培训的情况。
评估实验室医护人员的感染状况对于引起公众关注、为政府机构提供实际建议以及加强实验室医护人员的防护措施至关重要。
