TY - JOUR T1 - SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and asymptomatic viral carriage in healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study JF - Thorax JO - Thorax DO - 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-215414 SP - thoraxjnl-2020-215414 AU - Adrian Shields AU - Sian E Faustini AU - Marisol Perez-Toledo AU - Sian Jossi AU - Erin Aldera AU - Joel D Allen AU - Saly Al-Taei AU - Claire Backhouse AU - Andrew Bosworth AU - Lyndsey A Dunbar AU - Daniel Ebanks AU - Beena Emmanuel AU - Mark Garvey AU - Joanna Gray AU - I Michael Kidd AU - Golaleh McGinnell AU - Dee E McLoughlin AU - Gabriella Morley AU - Joanna O'Neill AU - Danai Papakonstantinou AU - Oliver Pickles AU - Charlotte Poxon AU - Megan Richter AU - Eloise M Walker AU - Kasun Wanigasooriya AU - Yasunori Watanabe AU - Celina Whalley AU - Agnieszka E Zielinska AU - Max Crispin AU - David C Wraith AU - Andrew D Beggs AU - Adam F Cunningham AU - Mark T Drayson AU - Alex G Richter Y1 - 2020/09/07 UR - http://thorax.bmj.com/content/early/2020/08/28/thoraxjnl-2020-215414.abstract N2 - Objective To determine the rates of asymptomatic viral carriage and seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in healthcare workers.Design A cross-sectional study of asymptomatic healthcare workers undertaken on 24/25 April 2020.Setting University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHBFT), UK.Participants 545 asymptomatic healthcare workers were recruited while at work. Participants were invited to participate via the UHBFT social media. Exclusion criteria included current symptoms consistent with COVID-19. No potential participants were excluded.Intervention Participants volunteered a nasopharyngeal swab and a venous blood sample that were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein antibodies, respectively. Results were interpreted in the context of prior illnesses and the hospital departments in which participants worked.Main outcome measure Proportion of participants demonstrating infection and positive SARS-CoV-2 serology.Results The point prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 viral carriage was 2.4% (n=13/545). The overall seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 24.4% (n=126/516). Participants who reported prior symptomatic illness had higher seroprevalence (37.5% vs 17.1%, χ2=21.1034, p<0.0001) and quantitatively greater antibody responses than those who had remained asymptomatic. Seroprevalence was greatest among those working in housekeeping (34.5%), acute medicine (33.3%) and general internal medicine (30.3%), with lower rates observed in participants working in intensive care (14.8%). BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) ethnicity was associated with a significantly increased risk of seropositivity (OR: 1.92, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.23, p=0.01). Working on the intensive care unit was associated with a significantly lower risk of seropositivity compared with working in other areas of the hospital (OR: 0.28, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.78, p=0.02).Conclusions and relevance We identify differences in the occupational risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 between hospital departments and confirm asymptomatic seroconversion occurs in healthcare workers. Further investigation of these observations is required to inform future infection control and occupational health practices. ER -