Frequency of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Various Occupational Sectors in an Industrialized Area of Northern Italy from May to October 2020.

Alberto Modenese,Stefania Paduano,Davide Ferrari,Tommaso Mazzoli,Annalisa Bargellini,Isabella Marchesi,Marco Vinceti,Tommaso Filippini,Paola Borella,Nausicaa Berselli,Fabriziomaria Gobba

doi:10.3390/ijerph18157948

Abstract

The results of a voluntary screening campaign for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 serum antibodies are presented, performed on workers in the highly industrialized province of Modena in northern Italy in the period 18 May–5 October 2020. The employment activities of the subjects that tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and/or IgG antibodies were determined and classified using the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC). The distribution across different sectors was compared to the proportion of workers employed in the same sectors in the province of Modena as a whole. Workers with anti-SARS-CoV-2 serum antibodies were mainly employed in manufacturing (60%), trade (12%), transportation (9%), scientific and technical activities (5%), and arts, entertainment and recreation activities (4.5%). Within the manufacturing sector, a cluster of workers with positive serological tests was observed in the meat processing sector, confirming recent data showing a possible increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in these workers.

Highlights

The aim of this article is to present an overview of the results of this campaign, and to describe the frequency of positive anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests in non-healthcare workers employed in workplaces in the province of Modena [6] as part of the serological screening campaign undertaken in private sector companies between May and October
We found an anti-SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate about eight times higher than the proportion of workers employed in this sector in the province as a whole, even if the data should be interpreted with caution, considering that the results are based on a voluntarily screening campaign
By expanding the analysis within the manufacturing sector, i.e., the employment group with the highest number of active workers in the province of Modena, and the highest number of “positive” workers, we found that for the Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) sub-codes related to the production of food, electronic equipment, other machinery and of motor vehicles, the percentage of workers employed in these activities with anti-SARS-CoV-2 serological antibody positivity was higher than the overall percentage distribution of manufacturing workers in the province

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. During the whole SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but especially during the first wave, the highly industrialized regions of northern Italy were the most severely affected areas in Italy, while these differences were less marked during the second wave of the pandemic, roughly from Autumn 2020. In Emilia-Romagna, one of these regions, a cumulative number of. 352,902 SARS-CoV-2 infections was confirmed on 11 April 2021, representing 9.3% of the total 3,772,617 cases recorded in Italy since the beginning of the epidemic [1]. During the initial phases of the pandemic in Italy (March–May 2020), the Italian

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