Incidence and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 among health care workers in Saudi Arabia: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Introduction Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly infectious serious acute respiratory syndrome that has emerged in Wuhan, China, and has spread rapidly throughout the world including Saudi Arabia. An important source of infection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is healthcare-associated infection (HAI). Healthcare workers (HCWs) have a greater risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection than the general population. Globally, thousands of HCWs have lost their lives due to COVID-19 infection. Aim Identify Incidence Rate and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 infection among health workers in Saudi Arabia. Methodology A retrospective cohort study carried from March to Nov 2020. HCWs selected by a Complete Enumeration Survey method. Data analyzed in frequencies and percentage tables. To test the differences, Post Hoc after Chi-Square- (χ 2 ) tests were used. Results As of November 30, 2020, a total of 57,159 HCWs tested positive with COVID-19. Their median age was 34 years, and 53% were male. Nurses were the most infected HCWs category (36%). The most common source of infection was from the community (78%). The majority of HCWs who acquired the infection from healthcare facilities got the infection from another HCW (63%). There was a significant difference between community and healthcare-acquired COVID-19 in relation to gender (P < 0.001) nationality (P < 0.001) job categories (P < 0.001) three age groups (<26: P = 0.012, 26-35 and 36-45: P < 0.001), and among HCWs who worked in MOH and private healthcare facilities (P < 0.001). The total number of reported deaths among HCWs during the study period was 198, with a case fatality rate of (0.35%). Conclusion This study findings show that infected HCWs characteristics were similar to the previous studies and indicate incidence rates of 10% among COVID-19 infected HCWs in Saudi Arabia. Analysis of the infection status of HCWs is critical, to understand their needs and challenges, improve protective measures, and provide effective recommendations for policymakers.

Clustering of Covid-19 infections among healthcare workers: Experience from a tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia

“…Therefore, measures to control community spread will also have a significant impact on infection prevention in HCWs. Similarly, other studies from Saudi Arabia during the first wave of COVID-19 showed 90.6% and 78% of cases among HCWs to be community acquired in origin 19 , 11 . In addition, working in wards/units designated for COVID-19 infected patients was not associated with an increased risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection.…”

“…The latter deserves careful planning and mitigation strategies to prevent the loss of the essential HCW forces during pandemics. Several studies from Saudi Arabia reported the increased frequency of COVID-19 among non-Saudi HCWs with coworkers being a common source of spread of infection especially in the setting of hospital-provided accommodations 10 , 11 , 12 . This finding is probably unique to countries with large numbers of expatriate populations working in healthcare settings and surely creates challenges for infection prevention in these settings.…”

Syndromic surveillance of respiratory-tract infections and hand hygiene practice among pilgrims attended Hajj in 2021: a cohort study

“…However, this rate was much lower when compared with the Saudi Arabian nationwide data. A serosurveillance study showed that the overall prevalence of COVID-19 among the Saudi population to be about 11% [ 20 ], and another study involving Saudi healthcare workers showed that 10% of them had the disease [ 21 ]. A high vaccination rate among pilgrims may have made the difference.…”

Hospitalization, death, and probable reinfection in Peruvian healthcare workers infected with SARS-CoV-2: a national retrospective cohort study

“…Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers have been identified as one of the groups at greatest risk due to their direct exposure to SARS CoV-2 as part of health care 1-6; Thus, the first reports made in China and later in European countries (7)(8)(9)(10)(11) evidenced the rapid and exponential transmission in healthcare personnel. As of May 7, 2020, health personnel accounted for 22% of COVID-19 cases in Spain 9 .…”