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Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection at the University of Barcelona during the Third COVID-19 Pandemic Wave in Spain.

Sebastián VidelaAurema OteroSara MartíM Ángeles DomínguezNuria FabrellasM Pilar Delgado-HitoImma CruzCristian TebéTeresa VinuesaFernando ArdilaMarta SanchoEsteve FernandezMontserrat FiguerolaFrancisco Ciruela
Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health (2021)
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic started in December 2019 and still is a major global health challenge. Lockdown measures and social distancing sparked a global shift towards online learning, which deeply impacted universities' daily life, and the University of Barcelona (UB) was not an exception. Accordingly, we aimed to determine the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic at the UB. To that end, we performed a cross-sectional study on a sample of 2784 UB members (n = 52,529). Participants answered a brief, ad hoc, online epidemiological questionnaire and provided a nasal swab for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) SARS-CoV-2 analysis and a venous blood sample for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody assay. Total prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection (positive RT-PCR or positive IgG) was 14.9% (95%CI 13.3 to 17.0%). Forty-four participants (1.6%, 95%CI: 1.2-2.1%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR. IgG against SARS-CoV-2 was observed in 12.8% (95%CI: 11.6-14.1%) of participants. Overall, while waiting for population vaccination and/or increased herd immunity, we should concentrate on identifying and isolating new cases and their contacts.
Keyphrases
  • sars cov
  • respiratory syndrome coronavirus
  • coronavirus disease
  • global health
  • risk factors
  • healthcare
  • physical activity
  • social media
  • health information
  • transcription factor
  • high throughput