1. SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence among Healthcare Workers in General Hospitals and Clinics in Japan
- Author
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Tatsuya Yoshihara, Kazuya Ito, Ryuji Urae, Nobuo Yurino, Shunji Matsuki, Shinichi Nakayama, Yoshikazu Kaji, Eunhee Chung, Shin Irie, Izumi Aoyagi, Masayoshi Zaitsu, Yosuke Tanaka, Hideki Koyanagi, Takuma Yonemura, Koji Yamaguchi, and Tomomi Tsuru
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ,Health Personnel ,Population ,lcsh:Medicine ,030501 epidemiology ,Antibodies, Viral ,Hospitals, General ,03 medical and health sciences ,Social support ,0302 clinical medicine ,Japan ,Seroepidemiologic Studies ,antibody ,Environmental health ,Pandemic ,Health care ,Medicine ,Seroprevalence ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,education ,education.field_of_study ,seroprevalence ,healthcare workers ,business.industry ,SARS-CoV-2 ,Communication ,Public health ,lcsh:R ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,COVID-19 ,Vaccination ,0305 other medical science ,business - Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a serious public health problem worldwide. In general, healthcare workers are considered to be at higher risk of COVID-19 infection. However, the prevalence of COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Japan is not well characterized. In this study, we aimed to examine the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies among 2160 healthcare workers in hospitals and clinics that are not designated to treat COVID-19 patients in Japan. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G was 1.2% in August and October 2020 (during and after the second wave of the pandemic in Japan), which is relatively higher than that in the general population in Japan (0.03–0.91%). Because of the higher risk of COVID-19 infection, healthcare workers should be the top priority for further social support and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2.
- Published
- 2021