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Prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among Health Care Workers—Zambia, July 2020
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Mar 30 2021
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Source: Clin Infect Dis. 2021;
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Alternative Title:Clin Infect Dis
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Description:Introduction
Healthcare workers (HCWs) in Zambia have become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, SARS-CoV-2 prevalence among HCWs is not known in Zambia.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional SARS-CoV-2 prevalence survey among Zambian HCWs in twenty health facilities in six districts in July 2020. Participants were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for health facility clustering, were calculated for each test separately and a combined measure for those who had PCR and ELISA performed.
Results
In total, 660 HCWs participated in the study, with 450 (68.2%) providing nasopharyngeal swab for PCR and 575 (87.1%) providing a blood specimen for ELISA. Sixty-six percent of participants were females and the median age was 31.5 years (interquartile range 26.2–39.8 years). The overall prevalence of the combined measure was 9.3% (95% CI 3.8%–14.7%). PCR-positive prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was 6.6% (95% CI 2.0%–11.1%) and ELISA-positive prevalence was 2.2% (95% CI 0.5%–3.9%).
Conclusions
SARS-CoV-2 prevalence among HCWs was similar to a population-based estimate (10.6%) during a period of community transmission in Zambia. Public health measures such as establishing COVID-19 treatment centers before the first cases, screening for COVID-19 symptoms among patients accessing health facilities, infection prevention and control trainings, and targeted distribution of personal protective equipment based on exposure risk might have prevented increased SARS-CoV-2 transmission among Zambian HCWs.
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Pubmed ID:33784382
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC8083617
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