Seroprevalence of COVID-19 Antibody among Health Care Workers in the Remote Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India

Authors

  • Amrita Burma Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Andaman & Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Sciences, Port Blair, India.
  • Deepak Kumar Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Andaman & Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Sciences, Port Blair, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6793-1358
  • Ashish Kumar Mandal Director Professor and Head of Department of Pathology, Laboratory Medicine and Blood Bank, SMSR, Sharda University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6859-9484

Abstract

Introduction: Health Care Workers (HCW) are the frontline workforce and highly exposed to COVID-19 infection. There is no baseline line data available about seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among different categories of HCWs in the isolated Andaman & Nicobar Island. Hence,a serosurvey was carried out to find out the type and mode of COVID-19 spread through estimation of SARS-CoV2 antibodies among health care workers across South Andaman district. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among the health care workers. A total of 1659 HCWs were selected randomly across all the categories of HCWs working in the island. Their venous blood samples were tested for COVID-19 IgG antibodies by using Erba Lisa ELISA-based kit.

Results: The overall seroprevalence was found to be 40.2 %. The highest prevalence was seen among health associate professionals (45.6%) followed by health support and management personnel (37.6%) & Health Professionals (32.6%) respectively.

Conclusion: From the present studywe draw an inference that SARS -CoV-2 IgG antibodies were comparatively higher among health care workers in South Andaman than other parts of the country. A large section of health care workers across South Andaman district are yet to develop antibodies and at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 infection.

How to cite this article:
Burma A, Kumar D, Mandal AK. Seroprevalence of COVID-19 Antibody among Health Care Workers in the Remote Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India. Rec Adv Path Lab Med. 2020;6(3&4):10-16.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2454.8642.202005

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Published

2020-12-30

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Vol. 6 No. 3&4 (2020): Recent Advances in Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

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