Seroprevalence of COVID-19 Antibodies in the Palestinian Southern Governorates

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the last strain of coronavirus which was detected in Wuhan city in December 2019. COVID-19 has now become a pandemic disease affecting all countries in the world. This study aimed to identify the seroprevalence of COVID-19 virus infection among the workers at the University College of Science and Technology (UCST). Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted between April and September 2021, sample size composed of 171 UCST employees. A predesigned questionnaire was completed and VivaDiag COVID19 IgM/IgG rapid test was utilized for the COVID19 specific antibodies screening. Results: Most of the participants (n = 87; 50.88%) were between the ages of 30 and 50 years. Results showed that the seroprevalence of COVID-19 antibodies was 23.39% IgM positive and IgG 25.73% positive. 84% (n = 144) of employees know about symptoms of COVID-19, 42.6% (n = 73) complained from at least one symptom of COVID-19. Moreover, 54.3% of them have commited with Palestinian Ministry of Health instructions (MoH) for the prevention to combat COVID-19, 70.2% (n = 120) dislike to be vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccine. Furthermore, the majority of subjects 92.0% were washing their hands with alcohol sanitizer, whereas 89.0% wear gloves and protective masks, and 80.0% follow social distancing. Conclusion: Despite the vast majority of the UCST employees having moderate to high commitment with MoH instructions for the prevention of COVID-19, large part of them require awareness program about the advantages of COVID-19 vaccination.