Please read Drs. Gennaro, Roy, and Panettieri’s article in the Open Forum Infectious Diseases titled, “Risk Factors for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection in Hospital Workers: Results From a Screening Study in New Jersey, United States in Spring 2020.“
As the global community continues to confront the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the potential for occupational exposure among healthcare workers (HCWs) remains a critical concern. Multiple studies comparing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among HCWs and non-HCWs have found higher rates of infection among HCWs, a disparity persisting after adjustment for the likelihood of being tested. Nevertheless, uncertainty remains as to what extent SARS-CoV-2 transmission is heightened within hospitals and what factors put hospital employees at greater risk for infection. For example, several studies have observed that HCWs with greater exposure to patients with COVID-19 were more likely to be SARS-CoV-2-infected, and inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE) was identified as a risk factor for infection. To read the full article.
Risk Factors for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection in Hospital Workers: Results From a Screening Study in New Jersey, United States in Spring 2020. Barrett ES, Horton DB, Roy J, Xia W, Greenberg P, Andrews T, Gennaro ML, Parmar V, Russell WD, Reilly N, Uprety P, Gantner JJ, Stockman L, Trooskin SZ, Blaser MJ, Carson JL, Panettieri RA Jr. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Oct 31;7(12):ofaa534. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa534. eCollection 2020 Dec. PMCID: PMC7665723 PMID: 33403219 Published online 2020 Oct 31.