Respiratory virus detection among healthcare professionals in Brazil: work-related contact and episode recurrence during the COVID-19 pandemic

Data de publicação

Janeiro de 2024

Periódico

Public Health

Resumo

Objetives – Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in the circulation of respiratory viruses have been observed after measures to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 were implemented. In this sense, we aimed to understand the circulation of the respiratory virus and its impact in a controlled healthy population of healthcare professional (HCP) volunteers in phase III of the clinical trial of the ChadOx nCoV1 conducted in São Paulo, Brazil.

Study design – This was a nested observational cohort study within a clinical trial.

Methods – We performed RT-qPCR to detect SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus A and B (IVA and IVB), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human rhinovirus (HRV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), human coronaviruses (hCoVs: HKU-1, NL63, OC43, and 229-E), parainfluenza virus (PiV) I–IV, and q-PCR for adenovirus in nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal samples obtained from HCP enrolled in the clinical trial to assess respiratory viruses infection among vaccinated and non-vaccinated.

Results – From July 2020 to January 2022, 876 samples were included from 737 volunteers (median age: 33 years, 62.9% female). New episodes were registered for 119 individuals. We observed an overall positivity of 37.7% for SARS-CoV-2 and 16.4% for other respiratory viruses; HRV was the second most detected virus (8%), followed by RSV (2.4%). Fully vaccinated individuals accounted for 53.3% of collected samples, and 52.9% presented at least one respiratory virus infection, with SARS-CoV-2 being the most predominant etiologic agent (62.3%). Influenza and hMPV were not detected among the tested samples. Among the subjects that presented more than one episode, SARS-CoV-2 and HRV infections were related to direct contact with patients (P < 0.002).

Conclusions – Data show high infection rates among HCPs even under mask policies and contact precautions, highlighting the need for improvement in infection control measures in this population regardless of the vaccination program.

DOI/link

https://doi.org/10.1590/S1679-49742021000100017

Autoria

Vínculo institucional

Lattes

Orcid

Gabriela Rodrigues Barbosa

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina, Laboratório de Virologia Clínica, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Felipe Alberto-Lei

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina, Laboratório de Virologia Clínica, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Ana Paula Cunha Chaves

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina, Laboratório de Virologia Clínica, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Joseane Mayara Almeida Carvalho

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina, Laboratório de Virologia Clínica, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Danielle Dias Conte

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina, Laboratório de Virologia Clínica, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Luiz Vinicius Leão Moreira

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina, Laboratório de Virologia Clínica, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Luciano Kleber de Souza Luna

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina, Laboratório de Virologia Clínica, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Ana Helena Sitta Perosa

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina, Laboratório de Virologia Clínica, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Nancy Cristina Junqueira Bellei

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina, Laboratório de Virologia Clínica, São Paulo, SP, Brazil