Health Surveillance and Response to Sars-CoV-2 Mass Testing in Health Workers of a Large Italian Hospital in Verona, Veneto
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15512138 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stefano Porru (0000-0003-3564-7202, University of Verona), Angela Carta (0000-0002-3620-8765, University of Verona, corresponding author), Maria Grazia Lourdes Monaco (0000-0003-4951-2528, University of Verona), Giuseppe Verlato (0000-0001-5262-8818, University of Verona), Andrea Battaggia (0000-0001-5517-6167, University of Verona), Marco Parpaiola (0000-0002-3534-8555, University of Verona), Giuliana Lo Cascio (0000-0003-3971-2008, University of Verona), M Pegoraro (0000-0002-8669-3594, University of Verona), Valentina Militello (University of Verona), Francesca Moretti (0000-0003-1235-1054, University of Verona), Stefano Tardivo (0000-0002-9161-2189, University of Verona) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 14 |
| Pages | 5104-5104 |
| Publication date | 2020-07-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijerph17145104 |
| PMID | 32679773 |
| OpenAlex | W3042742893 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 18 |
Italy presented the first largest COVID-19 outbreak outside of China. Veneto currently ranks fourth among the Italian regions for COVID-19 confirmed cases (~19,000). This study presents health surveillance data for SARS-CoV-2 in 6100 health workers (HW) employed in a large public hospital. Workers underwent oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swabs, with a total of 5942 participants (97.5% of the population). A total of 11,890 specimens were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection using PCR, identifying the viral genes E, RdRP, and N. Positive tests were returned for 238 workers (cumulative incidence of 4.0%, similar in both COVID and nonCOVID units). SARS-CoV-2 risk was not affected by gender, age, or job type, whereas work setting and occupation were both predictors of infection. The risk was higher in medical wards (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.9-3.9) and health services (OR 4.3, 95% CI 2.4-7.6), and lower in surgical wards and administration areas. To our knowledge, this study represents the largest available HW case list swab-tested for SARS-CoV-2, covering almost the total workforce. Mass screening enabled the isolation of HW, improved risk assessment, allowed for close contacts of and infected HW to return to work, provided evidence of SARS-CoV-2 diffusion, and presented solid ground to prevent nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections. The ongoing concurrent sero-epidemiological study aims to enable the improvement of health surveillance to maintain the safety of HWs and the communities they serve
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Environmental health · Incidence (geometry · Isolation (microbiology · Outbreak · Pandemic · Personal protective equipment · Population · Public health · Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 · Workforce · COVID-19 and healthcare impacts · Infection Control and Ventilation · Medicine · Nursing · SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research · Emergency Medicine · Epidemiology · Internal Medicine · Virology
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| Citations per year | 0.67 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2023 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |