학술논문
Prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Among Healthcare Workers—Zambia, July 2020.
Document Type
Article
Author
Fwoloshi, Sombo; Hines, Jonas Z; Barradas, Danielle T; Yingst, Samuel; Siwingwa, Mpanji; Chirwa, Lameck; Zulu, James E; Banda, Dabwitso; Wolkon, Adam; Nikoi, Kotey I; Chirwa, Bob; Kampamba, Davies; Shibemba, Aaron; Sivile, Suilanji; Zyambo, Khozya D; Chanda, Duncan; Mupeta, Francis; Kapina, Muzala; Sinyange, Nyambe; Kapata, Nathan
Source
Subject
*PREVENTION of infectious disease transmission
*CROSS infection prevention
*COVID-19
*CONFIDENCE intervals
*SICK people
*CROSS-sectional method
*MEDICAL personnel
*COMMUNITIES
*MEDICAL screening
*DISEASE prevalence
*ENZYME-linked immunosorbent assay
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
*COVID-19 testing
*POLYMERASE chain reaction
*VIRAL antibodies
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Language
ISSN
1058-4838
Abstract
Background Healthcare workers (HCWs) in Zambia have become infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (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 20 health facilities in 6 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 was performed. Results In total, 660 HCWs participated in the study, with 450 (68.2%) providing a nasopharyngeal swab for PCR and 575 (87.1%) providing a blood specimen for ELISA. Sixty-six percent of participants were females, and median age was 31.5 years (interquartile range, 26.2–39.8). 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,.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 who access 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]