• Arab J Gastroenterol · Sep 2020

    SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers of a gastroenterological service in a tertiary care facility.

    • Abdel Meguid Kassem, Hala Talaat, Shereen Shawky, Rabab Fouad, Khaled Amer, Tarek Elnagdy, Wael A Hassan, Omnia Tantawi, Reham Abdelmoniem, Yasmine Gaber, Hedy A Badary, and Sherief Musa.
    • Endemic Medicine Department, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
    • Arab J Gastroenterol. 2020 Sep 1; 21 (3): 151-155.

    Background And Study AimsFrontlines healthcare workers (HCWs) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are at increased risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2, but there are limited data on the prevalence of COVID-19 among HCWs in Egypt. This study aimed to assess SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs providing gastroenterological services.Subjects And MethodsSeventy-four HCWs at the gastroenterological service of Al-Manial University Hospital, the main hospital of the largest tertiary university hospitals complex in Egypt (Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University) were tested using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on nasopharyngeal samples, and rapid serological IgM/IgG tests (RST). A questionnaire was used to collect demographic, occupational and clinical data.ResultsOf the 74 HCWs, 10 tested positive by RT-PCR (13.5%). In 9/74 (12.2%) HCWs, antibodies could be detected by RST: three with both IgM and IgG lines; six with IgM line only and none with IgG line only. Frequency of positive tests was more among subjects with minor symptoms compared to completely asymptomatic HCWs (50% vs 16.1%, respectively). Neither age, gender or occupation was a risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection.ConclusionsPoint prevalence of COVID-19 in gastroenterology HCWs is 13.5% by RT-PCR. Continued measures are warranted to assure HCWs safety and reduce transmission from healthcare settings to the community during COVID-19 pandemic. Presence of positive test results among asymptomatic HCWs illustrates the importance of screening all HCWs irrespective of symptoms.Copyright © 2020 Pan-Arab Association of Gastroenterology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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