INTRODUCTION

in the context of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the situation of health care workers (HCW) constitutes a focus of interest, due to their high exposure and the possibility of becoming disseminators of the infection in the community These workers face an unprecedented occupational risk of morbidity and mortality The aim of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection in health workers of the Sanitary Region VIII, at province of Buenos Aires during June 2020.

METHODS

a cross-sectional design was used. A probabilistic sampling by two-stage conglomerates was carried out. Data were collected from a self-administered questionnaire and a blood sample for antibody identification. The COVIDAR IgG and IgM® test was used.

RESULTS

738 health workers were included; the overall response rate was 73.80%. 71.83% of that were women; 46.39% were between 35 and 49 years of age. Nurses and physicians accounted for more than half of the staff. 75.86% of people claimed to always use personal protective equipment. 5.61% of people had close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.4.60% of people had previously had a nasopharyngeal swab with a negative result. Five workers had positive IgG for SARS-CoV-2 (four women and one man), with negative IgM. The mean age of the cases was 35 years old; two of them were asymptomatic; neither of them had a swab sample taken. The overall seroprevalence was 0.75%, with no significant differences between strata.

DISCUSSION

the seroprevalence found was low; indicating a large proportion of workers was susceptible to infection. We stress the need to complement passive epidemiological surveillance strategies with serological monitoring in health workers.

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