ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to analyze the feasibility and acceptance of a non-invasive, daily and proactive screening program for SARS-CoV-2 infection employing serial saliva testing, in combination with a digital questionnaire among healthcare providers (HCPs) in a multi-professional setting.DesignThis was a prospective cohort study involving HCPs from different units at a single tertiary care center, over a pilot phase of 4 weeks during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic from April 18th to June 6th, 2020.SettingPediatric tertiary patient care units, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna.SubjectsHCPs from different units, including physicians, nurses, midwives, and administrative staff (with patient contact) were considered eligible for the study. Study participants were working in different settings in our center at varying levels of risk exposure.InterventionsSaliva collection from mouth gargle and electronic symptom and exposure monitoring (eSEM) was performed by participants at the onset of each regular clinical shift (day or night shift), using an anonymous ID for matching the results.MeasurementsRT-PCR of all saliva samples, eSEM, as well as feasibility and acceptance thereof.ResultsTwo hundred and seventy-five volunteers collected 1,865 saliva samples and responded 1,378 times in the eSEM during a 4-week period. 1,331 (96.7%) responses were that the testing was feasible and acceptable. The most common severe symptom during the 4-week period mentioned by HCPs was headache, reported 54 times (3.9%). Two SARS-CoV-2 positive samples—one of them being associated with symptoms—were identified. The acceptance rate among HCPs was 96.6%.ConclusionSerial saliva screening was a well-accepted and feasible method for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infectious state in health care professionals. Combination of regular SARS-CoV-2 tests with sequential saliva collection and storage could potentially represent a highly efficient strategy to identify and trace virus positive staff for employee and patient safety.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a commensal of the human upper respiratory tract. In certain cases, it can lead to serious invasive infections peaking in very young children and the elderly. Especially young children are frequent carriers and are thus regarded as the reservoir for horizontal transmission of pneumococci. This is the first study evaluating pneumococcal colonization patterns in healthcare professionals working in a tertiary care pediatric hospital, including carriage prevalence, serotype distribution, and risk factors for carriage. One oropharyngeal and one nasal swab per individual were directly plated onto appropriate agar plates and conventional culture was used for bacterial identification. Pneumococcal isolates underwent serotyping using Neufeld’s Quellung reaction with type-specific antisera. Additional nasal and oropharyngeal swabs were taken for qPCR analysis targeting lytA. In total, 437 individuals were enrolled. S. pneumoniae was isolated in 4.8% (21/437) of the study cohort using conventional culture and in 20.1% (88/437) of subjects using qPCR. Independent risk factors for pneumococcal carriage were living in the same household with children under 8 years of age and being aged 36–45 years with a carriage prevalence reaching 11.6% (vs. 2.9%, p = 0.002) and 6.7% (vs. 4.3%, p = 0.029), respectively. The most common serotypes were 6C and 3. A total of 71.4% (15/21) of the detected serotypes are not included in any currently available pneumococcal vaccine; 28.6% (6/21) of the carried serotypes are included in the PCV13 vaccine. We found a relevant amount of pneumococcal carriage bearing the potential risk of horizontal in-hospital transmission.

Pharyngeal carriage is the reservoir for Neisseria meningitidis in the population and the first step in disease transmission. Especially in young infants and adolescents, N. meningitidis can cause serious invasive infection with high fatality rates and high rates of long-term sequelae among survivors. The aim of this study was to determine N. meningitidis colonization rates in asymptomatic health care professionals at a tertiary university pediatric hospital and to identify risk factors for carriage. This cross-sectional meningococcal carriage survey was conducted between April and October 2018 at the Medical University of Vienna. Individuals working as nurses, pediatricians, or medical students were enrolled. Oropharyngeal swabs were directly plated onto selective agar plates and conventional culture was used for bacterial identification. Meningococcal isolates were further characterized using whole-genome sequencing. A total of 437 oropharyngeal specimens were collected. Overall, meningococcal carriage prevalence was 1.14% (5/437), with 0.7% (3/437) for capsular genotype B, and 0.5% (2/437) for capsular genotype W. Mean age of carriers was significantly lower than of non-carriers (24.2 vs. 35.8; p = 0.004). The highest carriage rate of 4.4% (4/91) was found in the age group 18-25. Carriage was negatively associated with age and timespan working in pediatrics. This is the first study evaluating the prevalence of Neisseria meningitidis carriage in health care professionals working in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Carriage was in general lower than expected for all age groups, implicating a low risk of meningococcal transmission via this population.