Seroprevalence of SARS CoV 2 IgG in pandemic frontline healthcare workers

The ongoing infection and transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2019 (SARS-CoV2) has challenged the global health system in the recent past. However, currently, the infection rate has been substantially reduced, but the pandemic showed an inevitability to study the human response to the SARS-CoV2 infection. The core objective of this study is to determine the frequency of individuals in the healthcare workforce, who possess IgG antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2.

A cross-sectional study was conducted at tertiary care hospital of Maharashtra region. Total 300 Health care workers were including in the study. Their blood samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody using Chemiluminescence methods.

The study was poised between male and female participants, with 47% and 53% of participants, respectively. The result showed 27% of seroprevalence, among the total participants, where 88% of seropositive participants were diagnosed with COVID-19 using RT-PCR techniques. The current study also illustrated the seroprevalence of the different classes of healthcare workers. Here, technicians and nurses showed a higher rate of seropositivity, 39.02% and 36.36%, respectively. Daily and close contacts with the COVID-19 patients were examined in relation to seropositivity. This study collected the RT-PCR results of the participants and used statistical tests to establish the association of RT-PCR results with seropositivity and symptoms (early and late). RT-PCR showed a significant relationship with early and late symptoms with a P value < 0.05. However, seropositivity failed to show a direct significant relationship with the RT-PCR positive results.

This study provides a framework that can be replicated in other communities. Overall, this study examined the seropositivity rate among the HCWs that could assist the hospital management in designing more effective COVID-19 appropriate guidelines.