• Mary Lucey, Guerrino Macori, Niamh Mullane, Una Sutton-Fitzpatrick, Gabriel Gonzalez, Suzie Coughlan, Aisling Purcell, Lynda Fenelon, Séamus Fanning, and Kirsten Schaffer.
• Department of Microbiology, St. Vincent's University Hospital, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
• Clin. Infect. Dis. 2021 Jun 1; 72 (11): e727-e735.

BackgroundDuring the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in healthcare institutions posed a significant problem. Due to limited evidence, guidance on appropriate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures such as the wearing of face masks varied. Here, we applied whole virus genome sequencing (WvGS) to analyze transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 in hospital-acquired (HA) COVID-19.MethodsAn investigation was undertaken for all HA cases of COVID-19 from March to April 2020. Fifty SARS-CoV-2 samples were analysed by WvGS and their phylogenetic relationship established.ResultsWvGS identified transmission events previously undetected by epidemiological analysis and provided evidence for SARS-CoV-2 transmission between healthcare workers (HCW) and patients and among HCW themselves. The majority of HA COVID-19 cases occurred in patients highly dependent on nursing care, suggesting the likely route of transmission was by close contact or droplet, rather than aerosol, transmission. Mortality among HA COVID-19 infections was recorded as 33%.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs from symptomatic and asymptomatic HCWs to patients. Interventions including comprehensive screening of HCWs for COVID-19 symptoms, PCR testing of asymptomatic HCWs upon identification of HA cases and implementation of universal use of surgical masks for all clinical care is indicated to prevent viral transmission. Our study highlights the importance of close collaboration between guidance bodies and frontline IPC experts for developing control measures in an emergency pandemic situation caused by a virus with undefined transmission modus.© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

13 keywords...

hide…