Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection Among Healthcare Workers in South Africa: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

Abstract From April to September 2020, we investigated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in a cohort of 396 healthcare workers (HCWs) from 5 departments at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, South Africa. Overall, 34.6% of HCWs had polymerase chain reaction–confir...

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Published inClinical infectious diseases Vol. 73; no. 10; pp. 1896 - 1900
Main Authors Nunes, Marta C, Baillie, Vicky L, Kwatra, Gaurav, Bhikha, Sutika, Verwey, Charl, Menezes, Colin, Cutland, Clare L, Moore, David P, Dangor, Ziyaad, Adam, Yasmin, Mathivha, Rudo, Velaphi, Sithembiso C, Tsitsi, Merika, Aguas, Ricardo, Madhi, Shabir A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published US Oxford University Press 16.11.2021
Subjects
Brief Reports
Cohort Studies
COVID-19
Health Personnel
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
SARS-CoV-2
South Africa - epidemiology
South Africa
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2
hospital staff
healthcare workers
Africa
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Summary:Abstract From April to September 2020, we investigated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in a cohort of 396 healthcare workers (HCWs) from 5 departments at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, South Africa. Overall, 34.6% of HCWs had polymerase chain reaction–confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (132.1 [95% confidence interval, 111.8–156.2] infections per 1000 person-months); an additional 27 infections were identified by serology. HCWs in the internal medicine department had the highest rate of infection (61.7%). Among polymerase chain reaction–confirmed cases, 10.4% remained asymptomatic, 30.4% were presymptomatic, and 59.3% were symptomatic.
Bibliography:V. L. B. and G. K. contributed equally to this work.
Bara HCW study group members are listed in the Acknowledgments.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1093/cid/ciab398