The epidemiology and dynamics of COVID-19 disease transmission among healthcare workers of a tertiary healthcare setting in India.

Abstract

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that has emerged as a pandemic now has put health care workers (HCWs) at great risk as they are the warriors in frontlines screening and treating the infected patients. When a COVID-19-positive HCW is identified, its contacts need to be traced to check the spread of the infection among patients and other HCWs. This study was aimed to study epidemiology and risk factors associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) infection among HCWs and to quantify the risk of infection among HCWs in a tertiary level health care setting. This cross-sectional study enrolled all the HCWs who were exposed to a patient with COVID-19 in a tertiary level health care center, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand from 1st May to 30th July, 2020. All the exposed HCWs were followed up for 14 days after the last exposure to a patient with confirmed COVID-19 infection. Epidemiological data were obtained using structured interviews. The data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. Frequencies and proportions were calculated for descriptive variables, and risk ratios were calculated for risk factors affecting the transmission of disease. We observed that 1,141 HCWs of the tertiary level health care hospital were exposed to COVID-19 patients during the study period. A total of 22 HCWs were tested COVID-19 positive among these exposed HCWs. Univariate analysis revealed a high risk of exposure to be significantly associated with a higher secondary attack rate of SARS CoV-2. The study demonstrates the risk of COVID-19 transmission through asymptomatic carriers. Therefore, periodic testing of all health care workers is necessary to ensure early mitigation of the shortage of health care providers.