Percentage of SARS-Cov-2 virus infected in health personnel below schedule

2020/05/04 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Mikrobiologia
• Osasuna

According to a study conducted at the Hospital Clinic (Barcelona), 11.2% of PCR and serologic testing staff are infected or contaminated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

In full appearance, the first antibody detection study was conducted in health personnel in Spain. First study of seroprevalence performed at the present time, according to the coordinator Alberto García-Basteiro. This data is very useful to know the degree of diffusion of the infection in the sector in question and to take measures to limit its diffusion.

To do this, he took blood samples to 578 hospital workers, detecting and quantifying different antibodies (IgA, IgM and IgG) and many antigens using the technique called Luminex. Thanks to this, they achieved a great sensitivity and were able to check if they were infected, even after a little or a long time they overcame the infection.

At the same time, they were diagnosed with CRP using nasopharyngeal samples to determine if they were infected at that time.

Of those 578, 14 were infected at the same time. Another 39 tested positive before this study. And 54 had antibodies. Some of them had no symptoms and were not diagnosed.

In total, both through CRP and serological studies (or both), 65 people tested positive, representing 11.2%.

The researcher warns that the percentage of the population is very likely to be even lower, since the risk of contamination is much higher among health personnel than those who have not had a direct relationship with patients. It also highlights the importance of testing all health personnel, since almost 40% of infections were not previously diagnosed.