Sars-CoV-2 infection rate in employees of a medium and high complexity hospital

Abstract

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was originally identified in the city of Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Current evidence indicates that the COVID-19-causing virus is transmitted person-to-person through direct contact and droplets. Objective: To estimate Sars-CoV-2 virus infection rate in hospital employees according to their job responsibilities. Materials and methods: Retrospective cohort study to detect Sars-CoV-2 infection in hospital employees, carried out between February 2020 and October 2021. The Kaplan Meier procedure was carried out to estimate the virus infection rate based on variables such as gender, age and job description. Results: There was a difference in infection rate between young and older adult age groups (Log Rank=18.6 gl=1 p=<0.0001). A significant difference was also found between young adult and older adult groups (Log Rank=10.6 gl= 1 p=0.0011). Conclusions: The older adult group showed a higher infection rate than that observed in younger age groups. These findings highlight the occupational risk of Sars-CoV-2 infection in health workers, especially in older employees. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain safety measures in order to reduce infection risks.