Abstract
Family physicians or pediatricians and general practitioners (GPs) work in non-hospital settings. GPs usually visit many patients, frequently at their homes, with low potential, if any, to control the work setting. Particularly during the initial phases of the COVID-19 outbreak, they were not informed about the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, with inadequate information regarding the risk, a lack of suitable protective measures and, in some cases, deficient or poor accessibility to personal protective equipment (PPE). During the first wave of COVID-19, primary care physicians were on the front line and isolated the first cases of the disease. The present study aims to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of 133 GPs working in Catania (Italy) after the first wave of COVID-19. Serological analysis revealed a low seroprevalence (3%) among GPs. The low seroprevalence highlighted in the results can be attributed to correct management of patients by GPs in the first wave. It is now hoped that mass vaccination, combined with appropriate behavior and use of PPE, can help further reduce the risk of COVID-19 disease.
Highlights
The present study aims to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of general practitioners (GPs) working in Catania (Italy) after the first wave of COVID-19
The aim of this study was to assess the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence, after the first wave of the disease, among GPs working in Catania province (Italy)
Serological analysis revealed a low seroprevalence (3%) among GPs. These low seroprevalence rates were found despite the treatment of 777 patients with COVID-19 infections during the first wave [11] period in which GPs worked with very few protective equipment (PPE) available from the local health authority
Summary
The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of Corona Virus Disease2019 (COVID-19), is the most severe global public health emergency of the twenty-first century [1].The disease, which appeared in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, quickly spread across continents and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 [2].At 5 February 2021, SARS-CoV-2 has infected over 104,000,000 persons and caused over 2,200,000 deaths globally [2].Current information suggests that, in community settings, person-to-person transmission most commonly occurs via the respiratory droplets of the infected individual (through coughing, sneezing, talking, etc.), close interaction with the infected person, or self-delivery of the microorganism to the eyes, nose, or mouth via SARS-CoV-2 contaminated hands [3].In health care scenarios, in addition to respiratory droplet-borne or contact-borne transmission, airborne transmission can occur via aerosol-generating operations [3].SARS-CoV-2 is highly transmissible, and health care workers (HCWs) have been occupied with the important risk of providing care to supposed or confirmed COVID-19 cases. The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of Corona Virus Disease2019 (COVID-19), is the most severe global public health emergency of the twenty-first century [1]. In community settings, person-to-person transmission most commonly occurs via the respiratory droplets of the infected individual (through coughing, sneezing, talking, etc.), close interaction with the infected person, or self-delivery of the microorganism to the eyes, nose, or mouth via SARS-CoV-2 contaminated hands [3]. SARS-CoV-2 is highly transmissible, and health care workers (HCWs) have been occupied with the important risk of providing care to supposed or confirmed COVID-19 cases. Some reports have shown that numerous HCWs have contracted COVID-19 in health care settings globally [4,5,6,7,8]
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