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Observational Study
. 2020 Nov 16;20(1):853.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-020-05587-2.

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

Emily S Barrett  1   2 , Daniel B Horton  1   3   4 , Jason Roy  1 , Maria Laura Gennaro  5 , Andrew Brooks  2   6 , Jay Tischfield  3   6 , Patricia Greenberg  1 , Tracy Andrews  1 , Sugeet Jagpal  7 , Nancy Reilly  8 , Jeffrey L Carson  9 , Martin J Blaser  7   10 , Reynold A Panettieri Jr  7   8
Affiliations
Observational Study

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

Emily S Barrett et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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.

Conclusions: 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.

Keywords: COVID-19; Healthcare workers; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram illustrating recruitment into the Rutgers Corona Cohort. Reasons for ineligibility include: pregnancy (n = 39), age < 20 (n = 45), recent medical treatment or medication change (n = 192), recent COVID-19 diagnosis (n = 30), insufficient patient contact-HCWs only (n = 536), insufficient work hours-NHCWs only (n = 93)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a prospective cohort, participating hospitals, and surrounding counties during the recruitment period (3/24/2020–4/7/2020). a confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Central and Northern New Jersey counties containing the participating hospitals; b confirmed inpatient cases of COVID-19 per total hospital beds in participating hospitals; and c confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive cases in healthcare workers (HCW) and non-healthcare workers (NHCW) by hospital in the Rutgers Corona Cohort. County data comes from the New Jersey Department of Health (as reported in the New York Times). RWJUH Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital; SARS-CoV-2 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2; UHN University Hospital Newark
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Update of

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