A Prospective Sero-epidemiological Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 among Health Care Workers in a German Secondary Care Hospital

Herzberg, Jonas; Vollmer, Tanja; Fischer, Bastian; Becher, Heiko; Becker, Ann-Kristin; Sahly, Hany; Honarpisheh, Human; Guraya, Salman Yousuf; Strate, Tim; Knabbe, Cornelius

OBJECTIVES: SARS-CoV-2 causing the pulmonary disease COVID-19 has challenged healthcare facilities worldwide. The sustainability of healthcare systems is largely reliant on the health status of their health care workers (HCW). This study was aimed at the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus and specific antibodies among HCW in a German hospital, as a model system for the potential spread of the pandemic. METHODS: Between March and June 2020, we performed this study using a combination of RT-PCR test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and ELISA to detect the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunglobulin G (IgG) antibodies among HCW in a German hospital by repetitive oropharyngeal swabs (OPS) and blood samples. RESULTS: A total of 871/1081 employees participated in this prospective longitudinal study. During the study period of 9 weeks, 5329 OPS and 2136 blood samples were analyzed. In three participants (0.34%) SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected. Anti-SARS-CoV-2-IgG antibodies were detected in 38 (4.36%) participants. CONCLUSION: Our study reports low prevalence of COVID-19 in HCW, which may reflect the effectiveness of hygiene protocols. It might, however, indicate a low prevalence of SARS CoV-2 in hospital employees. Our study protocol may serve as a thought-provoking example for future pandemic containment protocols in hospitals.