Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Single-Facility Analysis of COVID-19 Status of Healthcare Employees during the Eighth and Ninth Pandemic Waves in Japan after Introducing Regular Rapid Antigen Testing |
| Authors: |
Masayuki Nagasawa, Tomoyuki Kato, Hayato Sakaguchi, Ippei Tanaka, Mami Watanabe, Yoko Hiroshima, Mie Sakurai |
| Source: |
Vaccines, Vol 12, Iss 6, p 645 (2024) |
| Publisher Information: |
MDPI AG, 2024. |
| Publication Year: |
2024 |
| Collection: |
LCC:Medicine |
| Subject Terms: |
COVID-19, Omicron strain, rapid antigen test, healthcare employee, notification system, Medicine |
| More Details: |
Background: Community infections of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have increased rapidly since the emergence of the Omicron strain. During the eighth and ninth pandemic waves—when movement restrictions in the community were eased—the all-case registration system was changed, and the actual status of infection became uncertain. Methods: We conducted regular rapid antigen tests (R-RATs) once or twice a week as self-testing to examine the actual state of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) diagnosis among healthcare employees. Results: Overall, 320 (1.42/day) and 299 (1.76/day) employees were infected in the eighth and ninth pandemic waves. During both periods, 59/263 doctors (22.4%), 335/806 nurses (41.6%), 92/194 administrative employees (47.4%), and 129/218 clinical laboratory technicians (59.2%) were infected. In the eighth wave, 56 of 195 employees were infected through close contact; in the ninth wave, 26 of 62 employees were infected. No significant difference was observed in the number of vaccinations between infected and non-infected employees. The positivity rate of R-RATs was 0.41% and 0.45% in the eighth and ninth waves. R-RATs detected infection in 212 and 229 employees during the eighth and ninth waves, respectively; the ratio of R-RAT-detected positive employees to those who reported infection was significantly higher during the ninth wave (odds ratio: 1.67, 95% confidence interval: 1.17–2.37, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The number of infected healthcare employees remained high during the eighth and ninth pandemic waves in Japan. The R-RAT is considered effective for detecting mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 at an early stage and at a high rate in healthcare employees. |
| Document Type: |
article |
| File Description: |
electronic resource |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
2076-393X |
| Relation: |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/6/645; https://doaj.org/toc/2076-393X |
| DOI: |
10.3390/vaccines12060645 |
| Access URL: |
https://doaj.org/article/622a251828244c9497edfcfa1284c33a |
| Accession Number: |
edsdoj.622a251828244c9497edfcfa1284c33a |
| Database: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
