Emerging Infectious Diseases (May 2021)

Prevalence and Clinical Profile of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection among Farmworkers, California, USA, June–November 2020

  • Joseph A. Lewnard,
  • Ana M. Mora,
  • Oguchi Nkwocha,
  • Katherine Kogut,
  • Stephen A. Rauch,
  • Norma Morga,
  • Samantha Hernandez,
  • Marcus P. Wong,
  • Karen Huen,
  • Kristin Andrejko,
  • Nicholas P. Jewell,
  • Kimberly L. Parra,
  • Nina Holland,
  • Eva Harris,
  • Maximiliano Cuevas,
  • Brenda Eskenazi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2705.204949
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 27, no. 5
pp. 1330 – 1342

Abstract

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During the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, farmworkers in the United States are considered essential personnel and continue in-person work. We conducted prospective surveillance for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and antibody prevalence among farmworkers in Salinas Valley, California, during June 15–November 30, 2020. We observed 22.1% (1,514/6,864) positivity for SARS-CoV-2 infection among farmworkers compared with 17.2% (1,255/7,305) among other adults from the same communities (risk ratio 1.29, 95% CI 1.20–1.37). In a nested study enrolling 1,115 farmworkers, prevalence of current infection was 27.7% among farmworkers reporting >1 COVID-19 symptom and 7.2% among farmworkers without symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 4.16, 95% CI 2.85–6.06). Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies increased from 10.5% (95% CI 6.0%–18.4%) during July 16–August 31 to 21.2% (95% CI 16.6%–27.4%) during November 1–30. High SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence among farmworkers underscores the need for vaccination and other preventive interventions.

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