A call to protect non-clinical frontliners in the fight against COVID-19: evidence from a seroprevalence study in the Philippines.

Putong, Nimfa; Agrupis, Kristal An; Villanueva, Annavi Marie; Suzuki, Shuichi; Sayo, Ana Ria; Dimaano, Efren; de Guzman, Ferdinand; Teaño, Ruel; Salazar, Mary Jane; Evangelista, Jan Wendzl; +5 more... Dimapilis, Alexis; Villarama, Jose Benito; Ariyoshi, Koya; Takahashi, Kensuke; Smith, Chris; (2022) A call to protect non-clinical frontliners in the fight against COVID-19: evidence from a seroprevalence study in the Philippines. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, 18. 100353-. ISSN 2666-6065 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100353

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, healthcare workers (HCW) and other hospital personnel have been regarded as “frontliners”, and at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to the general population. As such, testing only symptomatic individuals or regular testing of HCWs who directly attend to COVID-19 patients or specimens may underestimate the extent of infection, and actual SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence. Because of this, the World Health Organization has called for seroepidemiological surveys to assess the extent of infection amongst HCW and other populations to provide timely estimates of COVID-19 virus infection severity and inform public health responses and evidence-based policy decisions.

Additional Information

Item Type	Article
Faculty and Department	Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases > Dept of Clinical Research
Research Centre	Covid-19 Research
Elements ID	169124