Abstract
Aim: To investigate the sources of infection among healthcare workers (HCWs) and patients in a teaching hospital in the Netherlands during the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic using epidemiological and whole-genome sequencing data.
Methods: From 3 rd April to 11 th May 2020, 88 HCWs and 215 patients were diagnosed with COVID-19. Whole-genome sequences were obtained for 30 HCWs and 20 patients.
Results: Seven and 11 sequence types were identified in HCWs and patients, respectively. Cluster A was the most common sequence type, detected in 23 (77%) HCWs; of these, 14 (61%) had direct patient contact and nine (39%) had indirect patient contact. In addition, seven patients who were not hospitalized in the COVID-19 cohort isolation ward who became positive during their admission were infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) cluster A. Following universal masking of all HCWs and emphasis on physical distancing during meals and breaks, no further evidence was found for patient-to-HCW or HCW-to-HCW transmission or vice versa.
Conclusion: The finding that patients and HCWs were infected with SARS-CoV-2 cluster A suggests both HCW-to-HCW and HCW-to-patient transmission.
Keywords: COVID-19; Healthcare worker; Molecular typing; Outbreak; SARS-CoV-2; WGS.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, healthcare worker, outbreak, WGS., Molecular typing, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus disease, whole-genome sequencing, Coronavirus disease 2019, pandemic, Healthcare workers, Hospitalized, hospital, Infection, Transmission, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, Severe acute respiratory syndrome, HCWs, Patient, Isolation, Cluster, whole-genome sequences, physical distancing, epidemiological, WGS, Admission, early stage, patients, Coronavirus-2, Evidence, Contact, Netherlands, HCW, acute respiratory syndrome, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, sequence, early stages, finding, positive, COVID-19 cohort, Seven, were infected, addition, nine, Netherland, diagnosed with COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 whole-genome sequencing, hospital, Patient, Netherland,