A cross-sectional seroprevalence for COVID-19 among healthcare workers in a tertially care hospital in Taiwan

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the frontline during the pandemic of COVID-19 globally. According to the WHO situation report at April 17, there were 22, 073 HCWs contracted the infection. Whether the infection control policy and practice in the hospital setting can protect the HCWs is an important issue. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional serology study in a tertiary care hospital in Taiwan to explore the sero-prevalence rate among HCWs. The participants are enrolled on a voluntary basis. A structured questionnaire was collected to gather the epidemiology character and risk factors for potential exposure. ELISA tests as Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG (Abbott) and Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay (Roche) were used to detect antibody responses. If any of the tests was positive, a western blot assay was used for confirmation. RESULTS: There were 194 HCWs participated during July 1 to Aug. 31, 2020. The mean age was 36.3 ± 10.4. More than half of the participants had possible hospital associated risk for COVID-19 exposure (110/192, 57.3%) and 64 had possible community risk for COVID-19 exposure (64/194, 33.0%). There was only one participant had positive test by Architect IgG test and confirmed to be negative for seasonal coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2 antibody. (Mikrogen Diagnostik, Germany). CONCLUSION: The cross-sectional serology study in a tertiary care hospital in Taiwan revealed no HCWs had positive serology response to SARS-CoV-2. We believe that the infection control policy and practice in the hospital and in the community are both important to prevent the disease transmission.