SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity in Nursing Home Staff and Residents during the First SARS-CoV-2 Wave in Flanders, Belgium
(1) Background: early in the COVID-19 pandemic, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing was limited. Assessing seroprevalence helps understand prevalence and reinfection risk. However, such data are lacking for the first epidemic wave in Belgian nursing homes. Therefore, we assessed SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and cumulative RT-PCR positivity in Belgian nursing homes and evaluated reinfection risk. (2) Methods: we performed a cross-sectional study in nine nursing homes in April and May 2020. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to compare the odds of (re)infection between s... Mehr ...
Verfasser: | |
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Dokumenttyp: | Artikel |
Erscheinungsdatum: | 2024 |
Reihe/Periodikum: | Viruses, Vol 16, Iss 9, p 1461 (2024) |
Verlag/Hrsg.: |
MDPI AG
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Schlagwörter: | nursing homes / COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 / seroprevalence / RT-PCR testing / reinfection / Microbiology / QR1-502 |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Permalink: | https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29387848 |
Datenquelle: | BASE; Originalkatalog |
Powered By: | BASE |
Link(s) : | https://doi.org/10.3390/v16091461 |
(1) Background: early in the COVID-19 pandemic, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing was limited. Assessing seroprevalence helps understand prevalence and reinfection risk. However, such data are lacking for the first epidemic wave in Belgian nursing homes. Therefore, we assessed SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and cumulative RT-PCR positivity in Belgian nursing homes and evaluated reinfection risk. (2) Methods: we performed a cross-sectional study in nine nursing homes in April and May 2020. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to compare the odds of (re)infection between seropositive and seronegative participants. (3) Results: seroprevalence was 21% (95% CI: 18–23): 22% (95% CI: 18–25) in residents and 20% (95% CI: 17–24) in staff. By 20 May 2020, cumulative RT-PCR positivity was 16% (95% CI: 13–21) in residents and 8% (95% CI: 6–12) in staff. ORs for (re)infection in seropositive (compared to seronegative) residents and staff were 0.22 (95% CI: 0.06–0.72) and 3.15 (95% CI: 1.56–6.63), respectively. (4) Conclusion: during the first wave, RT-PCR test programmes underestimated the number of COVID-19 cases. The reinfection rate in residents was 3%, indicating protection, while it was 21% in staff, potentially due to less cautious health behaviour. Future outbreaks should use both RT-PCR and serological testing for complementary insights into transmission dynamics.