COVID-19-free workplace: Measuring the level of antibodies against coronavirus as a basis for testing strategy in companies

Česká verzia

Authors: Zuzana Krátká ^1,2; Lenka Sedláčková ¹; Štěpánka Luxová ¹; Dana Hrubá ³; Stanislav Katina ^4,5
Authors place of work: Imunologická laboratoř GENNET, s. r. o., Praha ¹; Laboratoř VIDIA-DIAGNOSTIKA, Praha ³; Ústav matematiky a statistiky PřF MU, Brno ⁴; Ústav informatiky AV ČR, Praha ⁵; BIN – Centrum pro bayesovskou inferenci ²⁴
Published in the journal: Čas. Lék. čes. 2021; 160: 126-132
Category: Original Articles

Summary

The Czech Republic is one of the countries most affected by the coronavirus pandemic – approximately 16% of the population had a positive PCR test, 2–3 times more people underwent infection without undergoing this examination. It is particularly useful for employers to know how many employees have already contracted the infection and for how many people are still at risk of the coronavirus infection. For this purpose, it is appropriate to examine IgG antibodies. However, the testing strategy is different at present – antigen testing is mandatory to look for infectious individuals, regardless of human immunity. The aim of the pilot study was to determine the number of immune individuals after infection at three clinics of GENNET s.r.o. At the same time, unvaccinated individuals who had not had COVID-19 or had undergone it more than three months ago were tested with antigen tests.

The cohort included 297 subjects, of whom 182 were not vaccinated (61.3 %) and 115 subjects (38.7 %) were after the vaccination. Of the unvaccinated, 71 people had in the past a positive PCR test (39 %), another 18 people had positive IgG antibodies without infection (9.9 %) and 38 people (20.9 %) had negative IgG antibodies. So far, 55 persons (30.2 %) have not been examined. If we add people vaccinated and people with antibodies, then 74.3 % of employees of the GENNET Archa clinic, 68 % of employees from the GENNET Kostelní clinic and 58.1 % from the GENNET Liberec clinic were immune to infection. 153 individuals on average (60 of whom had antibodies) were tested for the antigen test in four rounds. The infection was detected in two people. Both belonged to the group without tested antibodies. No person with antibodies was tested positive for antigen. People who have antibodies after vaccination or infection are substantially less prone to infection and have a low risk of continuing to spread the virus. By examining antibodies, employers will gain a better overview of the situation in the workplace. Based on our study, we recommend including antibody testing into antiepidemic measures and limit antigen testing to seronegative individuals.

Keywords:

COVID-19 – SARS-CoV-2 – antibody – seroprevalence study – antigen test – PCR test

Zdroje

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Štítky

Addictology Allergology and clinical immunology Angiology Audiology Clinical biochemistry Dermatology & STDs Paediatric gastroenterology Paediatric surgery Paediatric cardiology Paediatric neurology Paediatric ENT Paediatric psychiatry Paediatric rheumatology Diabetology Pharmacy Vascular surgery Pain management Dental Hygienist

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