SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Healthcare Workers in Germany: A Follow-Up Study.

Johannes Korth,Monika Lindemann,Olympia Evdoxia Anastasiou,Adalbert Krawczyk,Sebastian Cordes,Anke Herrmann,Michael Jahn,Sebastian Dolff,Benjamin Wilde,Jasmin Frisch,Leonie Schipper,Mirko Trilling,Oliver Witzke,Birgit Ross,Andreas Kribben,Ulf Dittmer

doi:10.3390/ijerph18094540

Johannes Korth, Monika Lindemann + Show 14 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094540

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Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 is a worldwide challenge for the medical sector. Healthcare workers (HCW) are a cohort vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection due to frequent and close contact with COVID-19 patients. However, they are also well trained and equipped with protective gear. The SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody status was assessed at three different time points in 450 HCW of the University Hospital Essen in Germany. HCW were stratified according to contact frequencies with COVID-19 patients in (I) a high-risk group with daily contacts with known COVID-19 patients (n = 338), (II) an intermediate-risk group with daily contacts with non-COVID-19 patients (n = 78), and (III) a low-risk group without patient contacts (n = 34). The overall seroprevalence increased from 2.2% in March–May to 4.0% in June–July to 5.1% in October–December. The SARS-CoV-2 IgG detection rate was not significantly different between the high-risk group (1.8%; 3.8%; 5.5%), the intermediate-risk group (5.1%; 6.3%; 6.1%), and the low-risk group (0%, 0%, 0%). The overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence remained low in HCW in western Germany one year after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Germany, and hygiene standards seemed to be effective in preventing patient-to-staff virus transmission.

Highlights

This study reports a longitudinal observation of the seroprevalence course of SARS-CoV-2 at three periods (March–May, June–July, and October–December) in 2020 in 450 healthcare workers of the university Hospital Essen in Germany
This study evaluates if Healthcare workers (HCW) with daily COVID-19 patient contact are at greater risk for SARS-COV-2 infection overtime compared with HCW with less frequent contact with
To compare the estimated seroprevalence in HCW with the incidence of the area’s population, the SARS-CoV-2 incidence of the district of Essen was prompted from the Robert-Roch-Institut (https://survstat.rki.de)

Summary

Introduction

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a worldwide challenge for healthcare systems. The number of confirmed cases worldwide increased to 127 million on 29 March 2021, with the Robert Koch Institute reporting 2.7 million cases and over 75,000 deaths in Germany. The University Hospital Essen was designated the primary admission hospital for COVID-19 patients for an area of around five million residents. Healthcare workers (HCW) are vulnerable to infection due to frequent and close contact with COVID-19 patients [1,2], as the primary route of transmission is from person 4.0/).

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