Journal Article
Clinical, epidemiological, and molecular characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Infections among healthcare workers at a research center in the amazon region of BRAZIL from 2020 to 2022
Darciane Coelho Cordovil; Delana Andreza Melo Bezerra; Rayssa Layna Silva Bedran; Edvaldo Tavares Penha Junior; Dielle Monteiro Teixeira; Patricia Santos Lobo; Jones Anderson Monteiro Siqueira; Adinaura Gama Ramos; Amanda Mendes Silva; Kenny Costa Pinheiro; Jedson Cardoso Ferreira; Wanderley Dias Chagas Junior; Luana Soares Barbagelata; Fernando Neto Tavares; Mirleide Cordeiro Santos; Luana Silva Soares
Brazilian Journal of Microbiology · Vol. 56, Issue 1 · pp. 529-536 · 2025
Abstract
The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected different sectors of society, and healthcare workers have been particularly impacted. This study aimed to describe the clinical, epidemiological, and molecular characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infections among healthcare workers in Evandro Chagas Institute, a research reference center in Brazil, from October 2020 to July 2022. 845 samples were collected from individuals who presented clinical symptoms of respiratory infection. Nasopharyngeal positive samples were submitted through genome sequencing. Clinical, epidemiological, and the SARS-CoV-2 lineages (or variants) were analyzed. SARS-CoV-2 positivity was detected in 31.8% (269/845) of samples with a higher prevalence of females (60.2%). The highest SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates were reported in March 2021 (39%), January 2022 (65%), and July 2022 (56%). On clinical symptoms, arthralgia, chills, and diarrhea were statistically significantly detected in 2020; fever, runny nose, and arthralgia in 2021; runny nose, and cough in 2022. On molecular analysis of SARS-CoV-2, 66 samples (25.3%, 66/269) were sequenced and the most prevalent lineage was the Omicron, representing 57.6%. Studies on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of HCW are essential to propose control measures and work management since research centers play a major role in surveillance to identify and monitor infectious diseases.