tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Emerg Infect Dis
. 2021 Mar 3;27(5).
doi: 10.3201/eid2705.204949. Online ahead of print.
Prevalence and Clinical Profile of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection among Farmworkers, California, June-November 2020
Joseph A Lewnard, Ana M Mora, Oguchi Nkwocha, Katherine Kogut, Stephen A Rauch, Norma Morga, Samantha Hernandez, Marcus P Wong, Karen Huen, Kristin Andrejko, Nicholas P Jewell, Kimberly L Parra, Nina Holland, Eva Harris, Maximiliano Cuevas, Brenda Eskenazi, CHAMACOS-Project-19 Study Team2
Abstract
During the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, farmworkers in the United States are considered essential personnel and continue in-person work. We conducted prospective surveillance for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and antibody prevalence among farmworkers in Salinas Valley, California, during June 15-November 30, 2020. We observed 22.1% (1,514/6,864) positivity for SARS-CoV-2 infection among farmworkers compared with 17.2% (1,255/7,305) among other adults from the same communities (risk ratio 1.29, 95% CI 1.20-1.37). In a nested study enrolling 1,115 farmworkers, prevalence of current infection was 27.7% among farmworkers reporting >1 COVID-19 symptom and 7.2% among farmworkers without symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 4.16, 95% CI 2.85-6.06). Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies increased from 10.5% (95% CI 6.0%-18.4%) during July 16-August 31 to 21.2% (95% CI 16.6%-27.4%) during November 1-30. High SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence among farmworkers underscores the need for vaccination and other preventive interventions.
Keywords: COVID-19; California; SARS; SARS-CoV-2; Salinas Valley; United States; coronavirus; coronavirus disease; essential workers; farmworkers; infection prevalence; respiratory infections; serosurvey; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viruses; zoonoses.
. 2021 Mar 3;27(5).
doi: 10.3201/eid2705.204949. Online ahead of print.
Prevalence and Clinical Profile of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection among Farmworkers, California, June-November 2020
Joseph A Lewnard, Ana M Mora, Oguchi Nkwocha, Katherine Kogut, Stephen A Rauch, Norma Morga, Samantha Hernandez, Marcus P Wong, Karen Huen, Kristin Andrejko, Nicholas P Jewell, Kimberly L Parra, Nina Holland, Eva Harris, Maximiliano Cuevas, Brenda Eskenazi, CHAMACOS-Project-19 Study Team2
- PMID: 33657340
- DOI: 10.3201/eid2705.204949
Abstract
During the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, farmworkers in the United States are considered essential personnel and continue in-person work. We conducted prospective surveillance for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and antibody prevalence among farmworkers in Salinas Valley, California, during June 15-November 30, 2020. We observed 22.1% (1,514/6,864) positivity for SARS-CoV-2 infection among farmworkers compared with 17.2% (1,255/7,305) among other adults from the same communities (risk ratio 1.29, 95% CI 1.20-1.37). In a nested study enrolling 1,115 farmworkers, prevalence of current infection was 27.7% among farmworkers reporting >1 COVID-19 symptom and 7.2% among farmworkers without symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 4.16, 95% CI 2.85-6.06). Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies increased from 10.5% (95% CI 6.0%-18.4%) during July 16-August 31 to 21.2% (95% CI 16.6%-27.4%) during November 1-30. High SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence among farmworkers underscores the need for vaccination and other preventive interventions.
Keywords: COVID-19; California; SARS; SARS-CoV-2; Salinas Valley; United States; coronavirus; coronavirus disease; essential workers; farmworkers; infection prevalence; respiratory infections; serosurvey; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viruses; zoonoses.