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. 2021 Aug;290(2):430-436.
doi: 10.1111/joim.13274. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

SARS-CoV-2 infections amongst personnel providing home care services for older persons in Stockholm, Sweden

S S Hassan  1 , Å Seigerud  2 , R Abdirahman  2 , L S Arroyo Mühr  1 , S Nordqvist Kleppe  1 , E Pin  3 , A Månberg  3 , S Hober  3 , P Nilsson  3 , L Engstrand  1   4   5 , K Miriam Elfström  5 , J Blomqvist  5 , K Conneryd Lundgren  5 , J Dillner  1   5
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SARS-CoV-2 infections amongst personnel providing home care services for older persons in Stockholm, Sweden

S S Hassan et al. J Intern Med. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Background: In Sweden, home care services is a major external contact for older persons.

Methods: Five home care service companies in Stockholm, Sweden, enrolled 405 employees to a study including serum IgG to SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-2 virus in throat swabs.

Results: 20.1% (81/403) of employees were seropositive, about twice as many as in a simultaneously enrolled reference population (healthcare workers entirely without patient contact, n = 3671; 9.7% seropositivity). 13/379 employees (3.4%) had a current infection (PCR positivity). Amongst these, 5 were also seropositive and 3 were positive with low amounts of virus. High amounts of virus and no antibodies (a characteristic for presymptomatic COVID-19) were present in 5 employees (1.3%).

Conclusions: Personnel providing home services for older persons appear to be a risk group for SARS-CoV-2. Likely presymptomatic employees can be readily identified by screening. Increased protection of employees and of the older persons they serve is warranted.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; home care services for older persons.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart summarizing the screening of care personnel for older persons for nucleic acid detection and serological analysis of antibodies for SARS‐CoV‐2. Results of the PCR test were classified as positive, negative or inconclusive/censored. Results were censored if a repeat sample had been taken and the results differed. Inconclusive means that the test result was ambiguous. PCR = polymerase chain reaction, Ab = antibodies.
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