Seroprevalence of antibody to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus among health care workers in SARS and non-SARS medical wards

Margaret Ip; Paul K S Chan; Nelson Lee; Alan Wu; Tony K C Ng; Louis Chan; Albert Ng; H M Kwan; Lily Tsang; Ida Chu; Jo L K Cheung; Joseph J Y Sung; John S Tam

doi:10.1086/421019

Seroprevalence of antibody to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus among health care workers in SARS and non-SARS medical wards

Clin Infect Dis. 2004 Jun 15;38(12):e116-8. doi: 10.1086/421019. Epub 2004 May 24.

Authors

Margaret Ip¹, Paul K S Chan, Nelson Lee, Alan Wu, Tony K C Ng, Louis Chan, Albert Ng, H M Kwan, Lily Tsang, Ida Chu, Jo L K Cheung, Joseph J Y Sung, John S Tam

Affiliation

¹ Department of Microbiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China. margaretip@cuhk.edu.hk

PMID: 15227633
PMCID: PMC7107939
DOI: 10.1086/421019

Abstract

The seroprevalence of antibody to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in cohorts of health care workers (HCWs) with subclinical infection in SARS and non-SARS medical wards was 2.3% (3 of 131 HCWs) and 0% (0 of 192 HCWs), respectively. Rates for clinical SARS-CoV infection among 742 HCWs on these wards were highest among nurses (11.6%) and health care assistants (11.8%), indicating that these occupations are associated with the highest risks for exposure.

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Viral / blood
Health Personnel
Hong Kong
Hospital Units
Humans
Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional*
Occupational Exposure
Seroepidemiologic Studies
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology*
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / transmission*
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / immunology

Substances

Antibodies, Viral