Serosurvey for Health-Care Workers Provides Supportive Evidence for the Effectiveness of Hydroxychloroquine Prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 Infection
, Archana Pate3, Aruna Shankarkumar2, , Shreyasi Athalye2, , Shweta Shinde1, Umair Ahmed Bargir1, , Mangesh Pate3, Makarand Ganpule3, Meena Pruthi3, Hemant Patil3, Manisha Rajan Madkaikar1, *, - DOI
- 10.2991/jegh.k.210518.001How to use a DOI?
- Keywords
- Sero-surveillance; SARS-CoV-2; healthcare workers; hydroxychloroquine; prophylaxis
- Abstract
Background: The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has resulted in occupational exposure among Healthcare Workers (HCWs) and a high risk of nosocomial transmission. Asymptomatic infection and transmission of infection before the development of symptoms are well-recognized factors contributing to the spread of infection. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study to understand the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs and to verify the appropriateness of infection control measures, particularly Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) prophylaxis.
Methods: A cross-sectional sero-surveillance study was conducted among 500 HCWs in Dombivli and surrounding Mumbai Metropolitan area (Maharashtra, India) between 21st July and 3rd August 2020. The vulnerability of the study participants to SARS-CoV-2 infection was ascertained through a history of (i) involvement in direct care, (ii) exposure to aerosol-generating procedures, (iii) co-morbidities, (iv) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use, and (v) HCQ prophylaxis. SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were tested using COVID KAVACH anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody detection enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from Zydus Cadila. A systematic analysis of the correlation between the development of antibodies and factors affecting vulnerability to infection was performed.
Results: The overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in the study population was 11%. Providing direct care to COVID-19 patients (Adjusted OR 16.4, 95% CI 3.3–126.9, p = 0.002) for long hours and irregular use of PPE (Adjusted OR 3.78, 95% CI 1.1–11.9, p = 0.02) were associated with an increased incidence of seropositivity. Prophylaxis with HCQ may have a role in reducing the vulnerability to infection as depicted by univariate and multivariate analysis (Adjusted OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.3–0.9, p = 0.047). It was also noted that those not on HCQ prophylaxis were threefold more prone to infection and developed severe disease as compared to those on HCQ prophylaxis.
Conclusion: Prophylaxis with HCQ may have a role in mitigating the incidence and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although vaccination is the most robust strategy to safeguard against COVID-19, it will be months before vaccination percolates to the masses. In the face of the second wave of COVID-19, the use of HCQ prophylaxis in combination with use of face-masks regularly may be considered as a cost-effective measure for population dense areas like urban slums where social distancing is not possible.
- Copyright
- © 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press International B.V.
- Open Access
- This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
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TY - JOUR AU - Reetika Malik Yadav AU - Archana Pate AU - Aruna Shankarkumar AU - Shreyasi Athalye AU - Shweta Shinde AU - Umair Ahmed Bargir AU - Mangesh Pate AU - Makarand Ganpule AU - Meena Pruthi AU - Hemant Patil AU - Manisha Rajan Madkaikar PY - 2021 DA - 2021/05/23 TI - Serosurvey for Health-Care Workers Provides Supportive Evidence for the Effectiveness of Hydroxychloroquine Prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 Infection JO - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health SP - 283 EP - 288 VL - 11 IS - 3 SN - 2210-6014 UR - https://doi.org/10.2991/jegh.k.210518.001 DO - 10.2991/jegh.k.210518.001 ID - Yadav2021 ER -