Does Working in a COVID-19 Receiving Health Facility Influence Seroprevalence to SARS-CoV-2?

Mohammad Noor; Mohsina Haq; Najib Ul Haq; Said Amin; Fawad Rahim; Sher Bahadur; Raza Ullah; Muhammad Asif Khan; Afsheen Mahmood; Huma Gul

doi:10.7759/cureus.11389

Does Working in a COVID-19 Receiving Health Facility Influence Seroprevalence to SARS-CoV-2?

Cureus. 2020 Nov 9;12(11):e11389. doi: 10.7759/cureus.11389.

Authors

Mohammad Noor^{1

2}, Mohsina Haq³, Najib Ul Haq⁴, Said Amin^{1

2}, Fawad Rahim^{1

2}, Sher Bahadur⁵, Raza Ullah⁶, Muhammad Asif Khan⁶, Afsheen Mahmood¹, Huma Gul¹

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, PAK.
² Internal Medicine, Khyber Girls Medical College, Peshawar, PAK.
³ Microbiology, Peshawar Medical College, Peshawar, PAK.
⁴ Medicine, Peshawar Medical College, Peshawar, PAK.
⁵ Epidemiology and Public Health, Khyber Institute of Child Health, Peshawar, PAK.
⁶ Critical Care Medicine, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, PAK.

Abstract

Objective In this study, we aimed at comparing the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in healthcare workers (HCWs) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) receiving and non-COVID-19 receiving hospitals in Peshawar, Pakistan. Methods This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in a COVID-19 receiving hospital (hospital 'A') and a non-COVID-19 receiving hospital (hospital 'B'). Using stratified random sampling, 1,011 HCWs (439 from hospital 'A' and 572 from hospital 'B') were recruited to participate in the study. Immunoglobulin G/immunoglobulin M (IgG/IgM) antibodies were checked using Elecsys® (Roche, Basel, Switzerland) Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay. The chi-squared test was used to compare frequencies, and the binary logistic regression model was used to predict the association between study variables' seropositivity to SARS-CoV-2. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The overall seroprevalence to SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the two hospitals was 30.76%. It was 28.2% in hospital 'A' and 32.7% in hospital 'B' (p=0.129). The seroprevalence in HCWs having direct contact with COVID-19 patients was higher (33.1%) in non-COVID-19 receiving hospital versus 23.8% in COVID-19 receiving hospital (p=0.034). Seroprevalence was highest among administrative staff (44.0%), followed by nurses (30.8%), residents (19.8%), and consultants (17.8%) (p=0.001). As compared to consultants, the administrative and nursing staff were 3.398 and 3.116 times more likely to have positive antibodies, respectively. There were no significant differences in the seroprevalence between the respective categories of staff of the two hospitals. Conclusions The non-COVID-19 receiving hospital had a higher proportion of seropositive HCWs than the COVID-19 receiving hospital. The HCWs in the non-COVID-19 receiving hospital who had direct contact with patients had significantly higher seroprevalence. Seroprevalence was highest for administrative staff followed by nursing staff, residents, and consultants. Regardless of the COVID-19 status of the healthcare facility, all HCWs shall be trained on, and consistently follow, the proper protocols for donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Keywords: covid-19; health care workers; sars-cov-2; seroprevalence.

Grants and funding

The study was funded by an educational grant from the PRIME Foundation, Pakistan. (PRIME/RF/2020-235). PRIME foundation had no say in the design, results, and preparation of the manuscript.