PLoS ONE (Jan 2021)

The burden of SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers across 16 hospitals of Kashmir, India—A seroepidemiological study

  • Inaamul Haq,
  • Mariya Amin Qurieshi,
  • Muhammad Salim Khan,
  • Sabhiya Majid,
  • Arif Akbar Bhat,
  • Rafiya Kousar,
  • Iqra Nisar Chowdri,
  • Tanzeela Bashir Qazi,
  • Abdul Aziz Lone,
  • Iram Sabah,
  • Misbah Ferooz Kawoosa,
  • Shahroz Nabi,
  • Ishtiyaq Ahmad Sumji,
  • Shifana Ayoub,
  • Mehvish Afzal Khan,
  • Anjum Asma,
  • Shaista Ismail

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 11

Abstract

Read online

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has greatly affected healthcare workers because of the high risk of getting infected. The present cross-sectional study measured SARS-CoV-2 antibody in healthcare workers of Kashmir, India. Methods: Serological testing to detect antibodies against nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 was performed in 2003 healthcare workers who voluntarily participated in the study. Results: We report relatively high seropositivity of 26.8% (95% CI 24.8–28.8) for SARS-CoV-2in healthcare workers, nine months after the first case was detected in Kashmir. Most of the healthcare workers (71.7%) attributed infection to the workplace environment. Among healthcare workers who neither reported any prior symptom nor were they ever tested for infection by nasopharyngeal swab test, 25.5% were seropositive. Conclusion: We advocate interval testing by nasopharyngeal swab test of all healthcare workers regardless of symptoms to limit the transmission of infection within healthcare settings.