Prevalence and incidence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers in Belgium during 1 year of the COVID-19 epidemic: prospective cohort study protocol

Adriaenssens, Niels; Scholtes, Béatrice; Bruyndonckx, Robin; Verbakel, Jan Y; Sutter, An De; Heytens, Stefan; Bruel, Ann Van den; Desombere, Isabelle; Damme, Pierre Van; Goossens, Herman; Buret, Laetitia; Duysburgh, Els; Coenen, Samuel

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-054688

Cited by 13 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…This article focuses on the seroprevalence among primary healthcare providers (PHCPs). 19 PHCPs manage the vast majority of patient contacts, including COVID-19 patients, and therefore, play an essential role in the efficient organisation of healthcare. 20 21 Among the PHCPs, general practitioners (GPs) in particular, act as gatekeepers to the next levels of care.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence, incidence and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers in Belgium: a prospective cohort study with 12 months of follow-up

et al. 2022

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ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence, incidence and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers (PHCPs).DesignProspective cohort study with 12 months of follow-up.SettingPrimary care in Belgium.ParticipantsAny general practitioner (GP) working in primary care in Belgium and any other PHCP from the same GP practice who physically manages (examines, tests, treats) patients were eligible. A convenience sample of 3648 eligible PHCPs from 2001 GP practices registered for this study (3044 and 604 to start in December 2020 and January 2021, respectively). 3390 PHCPs (92,9%) participated in their first testing time point (2820 and 565, respectively) and 2557 PHCPs (70,1%) in the last testing time point (December 2021).InterventionsParticipants were asked to perform a rapid serological test targeting IgM and IgG against the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 and to complete an online questionnaire at each of maximum eight testing time points.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe prevalence, incidence and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 both after natural infection and after vaccination.ResultsAmong all participants, 67% were women and 77% GPs. Median age was 43 years. The seroprevalence in December 2020 (before vaccination availability) was 15.1% (95% CI 13.5% to 16.6%), increased to 84.2% (95% CI 82.9% to 85.5%) in March 2021 (after vaccination availability) and reached 93.9% (95% CI 92.9% to 94.9%) in December 2021 (during booster vaccination availability and fourth (delta variant dominant) COVID-19 wave). Among not (yet) vaccinated participants the first monthly incidence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was estimated to be 2.91% (95% CI 1.80% to 4.01%). The longevity of antibodies is higher in PHCPs with self-reported COVID-19 infection.ConclusionsThis study confirms that occupational health measures provided sufficient protection when managing patients. High uptake of vaccination resulted in high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in PHCPs in Belgium. Longevity of antibodies was supported by booster vaccination and virus circulation.Trial registration numberNCT04779424.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence, incidence and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers in Belgium: a prospective cohort study with 12 months of follow-up

et al. 2022

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“…In addition to the RST result, it collected information on the health status, including the presence of symptoms, COVID-19 testing and results, vaccination status (date of vaccination, type of vaccine, number of doses, presence of side-effects) and professional exposure (contact with confirmed cases, use of infection prevention and control measures). 19…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…presence of school-aged children in the house), professional data (practice patient size), health status (pre-existing health conditions, regular medication use, presence of symptoms since the start of the epidemic, previous positive test results for COVID-19), professional exposure (contact with confirmed cases, use of infection prevention and control measures and the availability of personal protective equipment) and practice organisational aspects (delayed care for non-urgent conditions). 19 A follow-up questionnaire was sent for each of the subsequent testing timepoints. In addition to the RST result, it collected information on the health status, including the presence of symptoms, COVID-19 testing and results, vaccination status (date of vaccination, type of vaccine, number of doses, presence of side-effects) and professional exposure (contact with confirmed cases, use of infection prevention and control measures).…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…18 This article focuses on the seroprevalence among primary healthcare providers (PHCPs). 19 PHCPs manage the vast majority of patient contacts, including COVID-19 patients and therefore play an essential role in the efficient organisation of healthcare. 20,21 Among the PHCPs, general practitioners (GPs) in particular, act as gatekeepers to the next levels of care.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The prevalence, incidence and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers in Belgium: a prospective cohort study with 12 months of follow-up

Adriaenssens

Scholtes

Bruyndonckx

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Objectives: To estimate the prevalence, incidence, and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers (PHCPs). Design: Prospective cohort study with 12 months of follow-up. Setting: Primary care in Belgium Participants: Any general practitioner (GP) working in primary care in Belgium and any other PHCP from the same GP practice who physically manages (examines, tests, treats) patients were eligible. A convenience sample of 3,648 eligible PHCPs from 2,001 GP practices registered for this study (3,044 and 604 to start in December 2020 and January 2021, respectively). 3,390 PHCPs (92,9%) participated in their first testing timepoint (2,820 and 565, respectively) and 2,557 PHCPs (70,1%) in the last testing timepoint (December 2021). Interventions: Participants were asked to perform a rapid serological test (RST) targeting IgM and IgG against the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 and to complete an online questionnaire at each of maximum 8 testing timepoints. Primary and secondary outcome measures: The prevalence, incidence, and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 both after natural infection and after vaccination. Results: Among all participants, 67% were women and 77% GPs. Median age was 43 years. The seroprevalence in December 2020 (before vaccination availability) was 15.1% (95% CI: 13.5% to 16.6%), increased to 84.2% (95% CI: 82.9% to 85.5%) in March 2021 (after vaccination availability) and reached 93.9% (95% CI: 92.9% to 94.9%) in December 2021 (during booster vaccination availability and fourth (delta variant dominant) covid wave). Among not (yet) vaccinated participants the first monthly incidence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was estimated to be 2.91% (95% CI: 1.80% to 4.01%). The longevity of antibodies is higher in PHCPs with self-reported COVID-19 infection. Conclusions: This study confirms that occupational health measures provided sufficient protection when managing patients. High uptake of vaccination resulted in high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in PHCPs in Belgium. Longevity of antibodies was supported by booster vaccination and virus circulation. Registration: Trial registration number: NCT04779424

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“…(9)(10)(11) Research on primary care personnel is scarce, although it has increased in the last year. (11)(12)(13) Internationally, these studies report seroprevalence close to 5% during the first wave and between 8.1% and 17% during the second, figures significantly higher than in the general population. (14,15) In a study conducted on health workers at a large hospital in Sweden, the seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was 19.1%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Immune response against SARS-CoV-2 of primary healthcare personnel in a commune of Santiago, Chile: follow-up at 6 months

Normandin

Matute

Hirmas

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019, spread rapidly around the world with almost 600 million cases and 6.3 million deaths today. The most affected were health workers with at least three times the risk of contracting the disease than the general community. Most studies on seroprevalence in health workers focus on hospital care establishments and what happens in Primary Health Care (PHC) has not been investigated with the same intensity. Objectives: to determine the prevalence and know the variation of antibody titers for SARS-CoV-2 in serial samples of primary healthcare personnel from the commune of La Pintana. Method: an analytical observational study with a cross-sectional and a longitudinal component, carried out from November 2020 to June 2021. The first component consisted of an IgG antibody seroprevalence study performed at baseline (time 0) in volunteer of a universe of 900 workers. The longitudinal component considered the monitoring of IgG antibodies in those who presented a positive result at baseline and the analysis of neutralizing antibodies in a random sub-sample of 50% of them. Additionally, sociodemographic and clinical information was collected via a questionnaire. Univariate, bivariate, and longitudinal analyses were performed to evaluate differences in antibodies. The study was approved by the Universidad del Desarrollo's Scientific Ethics Committee. Results: 463 primary healthcare workers participated, mostly women and with a median of 38 years; doctors and nurses represented 9.5% each and 14.7% had a history of COVID-19. The seroprevalence at baseline was 22.3% and was associated with younger age, being a doctor and having been in close contact of a case. IgG titers increased with the vaccine, but decreased over time. At the 6-month follow-up, 76% had neutralizing antibodies. Those belonging to indigenous peoples had higher IgG levels and higher rates of neutralizing antibodies. Conclusion: Healthcare workers were highly affected by COVID-19, and the medical profession and younger age were factors associated with increased risk. Antibodies decrease over time, highlighting the importance of follow-up studies, as well as the importance of vaccination boosters in healthcare workers, especially those in PHC.

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Prevalence and incidence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers in Belgium during 1 year of the COVID-19 epidemic: prospective cohort study protocol

Cited by 13 publications

References 36 publications

Prevalence, incidence and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers in Belgium: a prospective cohort study with 12 months of follow-up

Prevalence, incidence and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers in Belgium: a prospective cohort study with 12 months of follow-up

The prevalence, incidence and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers in Belgium: a prospective cohort study with 12 months of follow-up

Immune response against SARS-CoV-2 of primary healthcare personnel in a commune of Santiago, Chile: follow-up at 6 months

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