Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in previously undiagnosed health care workers in New Jersey, at the onset of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 853 - 10
• Main Authors: Barrett, Emily S, Horton, Daniel B, Roy, Jason, Gennaro, Maria Laura, Brooks, Andrew, Tischfield, Jay, Greenberg, Patricia, Andrews, Tracy, Jagpal, Sugeet, Reilly, Nancy, Carson, Jeffrey L, Blaser, Martin J, Panettieri, Jr, Reynold A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 16-11-2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Asymptomatic; Betacoronavirus; Cohort Studies; Confidence intervals; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demographic aspects; Demographics; Diagnosis; Disease transmission; Distribution; Epidemics; Epidemiology; Female; Health care; Health Personnel; Health risks; Healthcare workers; Hospitals; Humans; Infections; Male; Medical examination; Medical personnel; Middle Aged; New Jersey; New Jersey - epidemiology; Occupational Diseases - epidemiology; Occupational Diseases - virology; Occupational exposure; Occupational Exposure - adverse effects; Occupational health; Pandemics; Patients; Personal protective equipment; Physicians; Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology; Population; Prevalence; Prospective Studies; Respiratory diseases; Ribonucleic acid; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; RNA; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Social distancing; Time Factors; Viral diseases; Young Adult; New Jersey; United States > US; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Healthcare workers
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-020-05587-2

Healthcare workers (HCW) are presumed to be at increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection due to occupational exposure to infected patients. However, there has been little epidemiological research to assess these risks.
We conducted a prospective cohort study of HCW (n = 546) and non-healthcare workers (NHCW; n = 283) with no known prior SARS-CoV-2 infection who were recruited from a large U.S. university and two affiliated university hospitals. In this cross-sectional analysis of data collected at baseline, we examined SARS-CoV-2 infection status (as determined by presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in oropharyngeal swabs) by healthcare worker status and role.
At baseline, 41 (5.0%) of the participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection, of whom 14 (34.2%) reported symptoms. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was higher among HCW (7.3%) than in NHCW (0.4%), representing a 7.0% greater absolute risk (95% confidence interval for risk difference 4.7, 9.3%). The majority of infected HCW (62.5%) were nurses. Positive tests increased across the two weeks of cohort recruitment in line with rising confirmed cases in the hospitals and surrounding counties.
Overall, our results demonstrate that HCW had a higher prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection than NHCW. Continued follow-up of this cohort will enable us to monitor infection rates and examine risk factors for transmission.