Hospital-wide SARS-CoV-2 antibody screening of staff in a university psychiatric centre in Belgium
- PMID: 33468277
- PMCID: PMC7844164
- DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2020.172
Hospital-wide SARS-CoV-2 antibody screening of staff in a university psychiatric centre in Belgium
Abstract
In this first serosurvey among psychiatric healthcare providers, only 3.2% of a sample of 431 staff members of a Belgian University Psychiatric Centre, screened 3-17 June 2020, had SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G antibodies, which is considerably lower compared with both the general population and other healthcare workers in Belgium. The low seroprevalence was unexpected, given the limited availability of personal protective equipment and the high amount of COVID-19 symptoms reported by staff members. Importantly, exposure at home predicted the presence of antibodies, but exposure at work did not. Measures to prevent transmission from staff to patients are warranted in psychiatric facilities.
Keywords: COVID-19; Psychiatric nursing; infection prevention; mental health services; serology testing.
Conflict of interest statement
K.E.A., V.C., M.M. and L.D.P. report research funding from University Psychiatric Centre Duffel, during the conduct of the study; V.C. and J.G. report research grants from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Japan, outside the submitted work; M.M. reports research grants from Johnson & Johnson, Belgium, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Japan, outside the submitted work. P.V.D. reports research grants for the University of Antwerp from GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Pfizer, Sanofi, Merck, Themis, Osivax, Johnson & Johnson and Abbott; and grants from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), Flemish Government and European Union, all outside the submitted work. H.T. and A.B. have nothing to disclose.
Figures

Similar articles
-
Prospective surveillance study in a 1,400-bed university hospital: COVID-19 exposure at home was the main risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 point seroprevalence among hospital staff.Transbound Emerg Dis. 2022 Mar;69(2):720-730. doi: 10.1111/tbed.14041. Epub 2021 Mar 9. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2022. PMID: 33605549 Free PMC article.
-
Sufficient personal protective equipment training can reduce COVID-19 related symptoms in healthcare workers: A prospective cohort study.Int J Nurs Stud. 2022 Feb;126:104132. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.104132. Epub 2021 Nov 10. Int J Nurs Stud. 2022. PMID: 34890835 Free PMC article.
-
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among the staff and patients of a French cancer centre after first lockdown: The canSEROcov study.Eur J Cancer. 2021 May;148:359-370. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2021.02.027. Epub 2021 Feb 27. Eur J Cancer. 2021. PMID: 33780664 Free PMC article.
-
Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among nurses: A systematic review and meta-analysis.J Clin Nurs. 2022 Jun;31(11-12):1557-1569. doi: 10.1111/jocn.16009. Epub 2021 Sep 27. J Clin Nurs. 2022. PMID: 34570947 Free PMC article.
-
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and associated factors in healthcare workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.J Hosp Infect. 2021 Feb;108:120-134. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.11.008. Epub 2020 Nov 16. J Hosp Infect. 2021. PMID: 33212126 Free PMC article.
Cited by
-
Joint European policy on the COVID-19 risks for people with mental disorders: An umbrella review and evidence- and consensus-based recommendations for mental and public health.Eur Psychiatry. 2022 Aug 16;65(1):e47. doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.2307. Eur Psychiatry. 2022. PMID: 35971656 Free PMC article.
-
Risk Factors for SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among US Healthcare Personnel, May-December 2020.Emerg Infect Dis. 2022 Jan;28(1):95-103. doi: 10.3201/eid2801.211803. Epub 2021 Dec 2. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022. PMID: 34856114 Free PMC article.
-
Narrative review of the COVID-19, healthcare and healthcarers thematic series.BJPsych Open. 2022 Feb 1;8(2):e34. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2021.1085. BJPsych Open. 2022. PMID: 35101156 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- Flaxman S, Mishra S, Gandy A, Unwin HJT, Mellan TA, Coupland H, et al. Estimating the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 in Europe. Nature 2020; 584: 257–61. - PubMed
-
- Herzog S, De Bie J, Abrams S, Wouters I, Ekinci E, Patteet L, et al. Seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS coronavirus 2 in Belgium: a prospective cross-sectional study of residual samples. medRxiv [Preprint] 2020. Available from: 10.1101/2020.06.08.20125179 [cited 15 Dec 2020]. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
-
- Sciensano. COVID-19 – Wekelijks Epidemiologisch Bulletin Van 26 Juni 2020. Sciensano, 2020 (https://covid-19.sciensano.be/sites/default/files/Covid19/COVID-19_Weekl...).
-
- Long QX, Tang XJ, Shi QL, Li Q, Deng HJ, Yuan J, et al. Clinical and immunological assessment of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections. Nat Med 2020; 26: 1200–4. - PubMed
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Miscellaneous