tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Int J Infect Dis
. 2024 Apr 17:107064.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107064. Online ahead of print. Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity in Pediatric Healthcare Workers Prior to Widespread Vaccination: A Five-month Longitudinal Cohort Study
Mark Griffiths[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dunia Hatabah[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Patrick Sullivan[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Grace Mantus[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Travis Sanchez[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Maria Zlotorzynska[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Stacy Heilman[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Andres Camacho-Gonzalez[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Deborah Leake[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Rawan Korman[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mimi Le[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Mehul Suthara[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Jens Wrammert[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Miriam B Vos[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Claudia R Morris[SUP] 10 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Objectives: Determine SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody incidence over time in unvaccinated pediatric healthcare workers (pHCWs).
Design: Prospective longitudinal cohort of unvaccinated pHCWs measuring incidence of new infection after initial prevalence was established at 4.1% with seropositive predominance in emergency department (ED)-based pHCWs. Serum samples were collected at follow-up visits to detect new SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity. Univariate analysis was performed to estimate different incidence rates between participant demographics, job, employment location and community risk factors. Anxiety levels about COVID-19 were collected. SARS-CoV-2 antibody decay post-infection, and neutralization antibodies were evaluated. Log-linear Poisson regression models were used to estimate incidence.
Results: Of 642 initially enrolled, 390 pHCWs presented for at least one follow-up serology test after baseline analysis. Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was 8.2%. The seropositive cohort, like the negative one consisted mainly of females in non-ED settings and non-physician roles. There were no statistically significant differences in incidence across variables. Seropositive participants dropped antibody titers by 50% at 3 months. Neutralization antibodies correlated to SARs-CoV-2 binding antibodies (r=0.43,p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Incidence of seropositivity was 8.2%. Although seropositivity was higher among ED staff during early stages of the pandemic, this difference declined over time, likely due to universal adoption of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Keywords: COVID-19; Emergency Department; Neutralization Antibodies; Personal Protective Equipment; Receptor Binding Domain; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibodies; pediatric healthcare workers.
. 2024 Apr 17:107064.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107064. Online ahead of print. Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity in Pediatric Healthcare Workers Prior to Widespread Vaccination: A Five-month Longitudinal Cohort Study
Mark Griffiths[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dunia Hatabah[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Patrick Sullivan[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Grace Mantus[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Travis Sanchez[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Maria Zlotorzynska[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Stacy Heilman[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Andres Camacho-Gonzalez[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Deborah Leake[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Rawan Korman[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mimi Le[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Mehul Suthara[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Jens Wrammert[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Miriam B Vos[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Claudia R Morris[SUP] 10 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 38641316
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107064
Objectives: Determine SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody incidence over time in unvaccinated pediatric healthcare workers (pHCWs).
Design: Prospective longitudinal cohort of unvaccinated pHCWs measuring incidence of new infection after initial prevalence was established at 4.1% with seropositive predominance in emergency department (ED)-based pHCWs. Serum samples were collected at follow-up visits to detect new SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity. Univariate analysis was performed to estimate different incidence rates between participant demographics, job, employment location and community risk factors. Anxiety levels about COVID-19 were collected. SARS-CoV-2 antibody decay post-infection, and neutralization antibodies were evaluated. Log-linear Poisson regression models were used to estimate incidence.
Results: Of 642 initially enrolled, 390 pHCWs presented for at least one follow-up serology test after baseline analysis. Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was 8.2%. The seropositive cohort, like the negative one consisted mainly of females in non-ED settings and non-physician roles. There were no statistically significant differences in incidence across variables. Seropositive participants dropped antibody titers by 50% at 3 months. Neutralization antibodies correlated to SARs-CoV-2 binding antibodies (r=0.43,p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Incidence of seropositivity was 8.2%. Although seropositivity was higher among ED staff during early stages of the pandemic, this difference declined over time, likely due to universal adoption of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Keywords: COVID-19; Emergency Department; Neutralization Antibodies; Personal Protective Equipment; Receptor Binding Domain; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibodies; pediatric healthcare workers.