COVID-19 cases among medical laboratory services staff in South Africa, 2020-2021: A cohort study.

Autor: Wilson KS; Epidemiology and Surveillance Section, National Institute for Occupational Health, A Division of National Health Laboratory Service, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa.; Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Witwatersrand, South Africa., Ntlebi V; Epidemiology and Surveillance Section, National Institute for Occupational Health, A Division of National Health Laboratory Service, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa., Made F; Epidemiology and Surveillance Section, National Institute for Occupational Health, A Division of National Health Laboratory Service, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa., Sanabria N; Toxicology and Biochemistry Department, National Institute for Occupational Health, A Division of National Health Laboratory Service, Braamfontein, South Africa., Vetten M; Toxicology and Biochemistry Department, National Institute for Occupational Health, A Division of National Health Laboratory Service, Braamfontein, South Africa., Joseph J; Toxicology and Biochemistry Department, National Institute for Occupational Health, A Division of National Health Laboratory Service, Braamfontein, South Africa., Chin G; National Safety Health and Environment Department, National Institute for Occupational Health, A Division of National Health Laboratory Services, Braamfontein, South Africa., Jones D; National Safety Health and Environment Department, National Institute for Occupational Health, A Division of National Health Laboratory Services, Braamfontein, South Africa., Tlotleng N; Epidemiology and Surveillance Section, National Institute for Occupational Health, A Division of National Health Laboratory Service, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2022 Jun 17; Vol. 17 (6), pp. e0268998. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Jun 17 (Print Publication: 2022).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268998
Abstrakt: Medical laboratory workers may have an increased risk of COVID-19 due to their interaction with biological samples received for testing and contamination of documents. Records of COVID-19 laboratory-confirmed positive cases within the medical laboratory service were routinely collected in the company's Occupational Health and Safety Information System (OHASIS). Surveillance data from the OHASIS system were extracted from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. An epidemic curve was plotted and compared to that for the country, along with prevalence proportions and incidence rates. The odds of COVID-19 infection were categorised by job and compared to the US Occupational Risk Scores. A logistic regression model assessed the risk of COVID-19 infection per occupational group. A total of 2091 (26% of staff) COVID-19 positive cases were reported. The number of COVID-19 cases was higher in the first wave at 46% (967/2091) of cases, than in the second wave 40% (846/2091) of cases. There was no significant difference in COVID-19 prevalence between male and female employees. The job categories with the most increased risk were laboratory managers [AOR 3.2 (95%CI 1.9-5.1)] and laboratory support clerks [AOR 3.2 (95%CI 1.9-5.2)]. Our study confirms that some categories of medical laboratory staff are at increased risk for COVID-19; this is a complex interaction between workplace risk factors, community interaction, socioeconomic status, personal habits, and behaviour. Targeted interventions are recommended for high-risk groups. OHASIS has the potential to generate data for surveillance of health care workers and contribute towards a South African risk profile.
Competing Interests: I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: One author is involved in establishing the information system used here to provide the data in the local government health departments. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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