Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection among healthcare workers in a tertiary public hospital in Curitiba, Brazil

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Regiane Nogueira Spalanzani, Gustavo Genelhoud, Sonia Mara Raboni, Sergio Monteiro de Almeida, Luciane Aparecida Pereira, Indianara Rotta, Barbara Maria Cavalli, Francielli Brusco Moreira, Carolina Lumi Tanaka Dino, Gislene Reche de Almeida Takahashi, Regielly Caroline Raimundo Cognialli, Beatriz Sanada Spiri, Lucas Bochnia-Bueno, Jaqueline Carvalho de Oliveira, Douglas Adamoski, Daniela Fiori Gradia, Ana Cláudia Bonatto, Roseli Wassem, Juliana Mazini Alves, Raquel da Silva Padilha, Vitor Jorge Woytuski Brasil, Bernardo Montesanti Machado de Almeida, Meri Bordignon Nogueira
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2022
• Subjects: Health personnel; COVID-19; Nosocomial transmission; Molecular diagnosis; SARS-CoV-2; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0265-2021; https://doaj.org/article/b458060997a84b6ba94059243a37caa2

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Curitiba, Brazil. METHODS: Upper respiratory samples from 1077 HCWs were tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction from June 16, 2020 to December 9, 2020. RESULTS: Overall, 32.7% of HCWs were infected. The positivity rates in symptomatic and asymptomatic HCWs were 39.2% and 15.9%, respectively. Hospital departments categorized as high-risk for exposure had the highest number of infected HCWs. CONCLUSIONS: Early diagnosis and isolation of infected HCWs remain key in controlling SARS-CoV-2 transmission because HCWs in close contact with COVID-19 patients are more likely to be infected than those who are not.