Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Among Frontline Health Care Personnel in a Multistate Hospital Network — 13 Academic Medical Centers, April–June 2020

Details

• Personal Author:
  Self, Wesley H. ; Tenforde, Mark W. ; Stubblefield, William B. ; Feldstein, Leora R. ; Steingrub, Jay S. ; Shapiro, Nathan I. ; Ginde, Adit A. ; Prekker, Matthew E. ; Brown, Samuel M. ; Peltan, Ithan D. ; Gong, Michelle N. ; Aboodi, Michael S. ; Khan, Akram ; Exline, Matthew C. ; Files, D. Clark ; Gibbs, Kevin W. ; Lindsell, Christopher J. ; Rice, Todd. W. ; Jones, Ian D. ; Halasa, Natasha ; Talbot, H. Keipp ; Grijalva, Carlos G. ; Casey, Jonathan D. ; Hager, David N. ; Qadir, Nida ; Henning, Daniel J. ; Coughlin, Melissa M. ; Schiffer, Jarad ; Semenova, Vera ; Li, Han ; Thornburg, Natalie J. ; Patel, Manish M.
• Corporate Authors:
  Vanderbilt University Medical Center. ; CDC COVID- Response Team. ; Baystate Medical Center. ; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. ; University of Colorado School of Medicine (Aurora) ; Hennepin County Medical Center. ; Intermountain Health Care (Utah) ; Montefiore Medical Center. ; Oregon Health & Sciences University Hospital. ; Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. ; Wake Forest University. Baptist Medical Center. ; Johns Hopkins Hospital. ; UCLA Medical Center. ; Harborview Medical Center (Seattle, Wash.) ; IVY Network.
• Description:
  What is already known about this topic? Little is known about the prevalence and features of SARS-CoV-2 infection among frontline U.S. health care personnel.
  
  What is added by this report? Among 3,248 personnel observed, 6% had antibody evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection; 29% of personnel with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were asymptomatic in the preceding months, and 69% had not previously received a Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was lower among personnel who reported always wearing a face covering while caring for patients (6%), compared with those who did not (9%).
  
  What are the implications for public health practice? A high proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections among health care personnel appear to go undetected. Universal use of face coverings and lowering clinical thresholds for tTesting could be important strategies for reducing hospital Transmission.
  
  Health care personnel (HCP) caring for patients with coronaVirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) might be at high risk for contracting SARS-CoV-2, the Virus that causes COVID-19. Understanding the prevalence of and factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among frontline HCP who care for COVID-19 patients are important for protecting both HCP and their patients. During April 3–June 19, 2020, serum specimens were collected from a convenience sample of frontline HCP who worked with COVID-19 patients at 13 geographically diverse academic medical centers in the United States, and specimens were tested for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. Participants were asked about potential symptoms of COVID-19 experienced since February 1, 2020, previous tTesting for acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, and their use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the past week. Among 3,248 participants, 194 (6.0%) had positive test results for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Seroprevalence by hospital ranged from 0.8% to 31.2% (median = 3.6%). Among the 194 seropositive participants, 56 (29%) reported no symptoms since February 1, 2020, 86 (44%) did not believe that they previously had COVID-19, and 133 (69%) did not report a previous COVID-19 Diagnosis. Seroprevalence was lower among personnel who reported always wearing a face covering (defined in this study as a surgical mask, N95 respirator, or powered air purifying respirator [PAPR]) while caring for patients (5.6%), compared with that among those who did not (9.0%) (p = 0.012). Consistent with persons in the general population with SARS-CoV-2 infection, many frontline HCP with SARS-CoV-2 infection might be asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic during infection, and infection might be unrecognized. Enhanced screening, including frequent tTesting of frontline HCP, and universal use of face coverings in hospitals are two strategies that could reduce SARS-CoV-2 Transmission.
  
  Suggested citation for this article: Self WH, Tenforde MW, Stubblefield WB, et al. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Among Frontline Health Care Personnel in a Multistate Hospital Network — 13 Academic Medical Centers, April–June 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 31 August 2020.
  
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• Content Notes:
  Characteristics of Health Care Personnel With and Without SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies -- Personal Protective Equipment Use -- Discussion.
• Subjects:
  Antibodies, Viral/blood BetacoronaVirus CoronaVirus Infections/Diagnosis COVID-19 Serological Testing Health Personnel Hospitals, University Pandemics Pneumonia, Viral/Diagnosis Prevalence Seroepidemiologic Studies Serologic Tests

  More +
• Source:
  MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2020; v. 69 Early Release
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Washington ; Oregon ; California ; Minnesota ; Tennessee ; Ohio ; North Carolina ; New York ; Massachusetts ; Utah ; Colorado ; Maryland
• Pages in Document:
  7 pdf pages
• Volume:
  69
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:010e200e516c232bd9e214869627d3170de24fd4b53c42de0ff3321840df953f9b1e0b1b694cfe890601073a10e3f2684e036340103adc4cd29a3231d7bbd837
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/92804/cdc_92804_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 477.55 KB ]