Seroprevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among health care workers in a large Spanish reference hospital

Nat Commun. 2020 Jul 8;11(1):3500. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17318-x.

Abstract

Health care workers (HCW) are a high-risk population to acquire SARS-CoV-2 infection from patients or other fellow HCW. This study aims at estimating the seroprevalence against SARS-CoV-2 in a random sample of HCW from a large hospital in Spain. Of the 578 participants recruited from 28 March to 9 April 2020, 54 (9.3%, 95% CI: 7.1-12.0) were seropositive for IgM and/or IgG and/or IgA against SARS-CoV-2. The cumulative prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection (presence of antibodies or past or current positive rRT-PCR) was 11.2% (65/578, 95% CI: 8.8-14.1). Among those with evidence of past or current infection, 40.0% (26/65) had not been previously diagnosed with COVID-19. Here we report a relatively low seroprevalence of antibodies among HCW at the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic in Spain. A large proportion of HCW with past or present infection had not been previously diagnosed with COVID-19, which calls for active periodic rRT-PCR testing in hospital settings.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood*
  • Asymptomatic Infections / epidemiology
  • Betacoronavirus / genetics
  • Betacoronavirus / immunology*
  • Betacoronavirus / isolation & purification
  • COVID-19
  • Coronavirus Infections / blood
  • Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis
  • Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
  • Female
  • Health Personnel*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Occupational Health
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / blood
  • Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis
  • Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
  • RNA, Viral / blood
  • Risk Factors
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Spain / epidemiology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • RNA, Viral