A cross sectional study on detection of COVID 19 antibodies in laboratory personnel at Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-COV-2) associated with COVID-19 disease was first reported from Wuhan Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Aim and Objective: The current study is aimed to evaluate seroprevalence of SARS-COV-2 antibodies in laboratory personnel working in association with COVID-19 diagnostic work. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2020 and December 2020 to evluate seropositivity of COVID-19 in laboratory personnel by using COVID-19 IgG ELISA. Results: A total number of 91 laboratory personnel were included in the current study. Out of them, 45 (49.45%) were males, 46 (50.55%) were females. Out of 91 participants, 44 (48.35%) were doctors, 19 (20.8%) were Lab technicians, 13 (14.28%) were sample collection technicians, 7 (7.69%) were transport persons, 4 (4.39%) were research scientist, and 4 (4.39%) were data managers. Out of 91 samples, 25 were positive. Out of 44 doctors, 11 were positive contributing for (25%); out of 19 laboratory technicians, 5 were positive contributing for (26%); and out of 13 sample collection technicians, 5 were positive contributing for (38.46%). Conclusion: Seropositivity in asymptomatic individuals means that we need to be even more cautious in hospitals with masks, hand washing, and sanitization. Repeated serosurveys will help in the implementation of infection control policies in a systematic way, which in turn helps in protection of health care workers against COVID-19.