Epidemiological risks and lessons from the first wave of new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in medical organizations

BACKGROUND: Health workers, who have been at the forefront of efforts to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, have become one of the main risk groups for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study of the incidence of a new coronavirus infection of medical workers and the development of measures to protect them is an urgent task.

AIMS: Study of epidemiological risks and features of the incidence of COVID-19 in medical organizations for the development of proposals for the adjustment of preventive and anti-epidemic measures in the context of a new wave of coronavirus infection.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined reporting forms “an overview of cases with positive COVID-19” (138 items), “an overview of cases of community-acquired pneumonia with positive COVID-19” (138 units), the card of epidemiological investigation of the disease COVID-19 health workers (386 units of information), copies of “Acts of epidemiological investigation of infectious (parasitic) diseases, establishing causal relationships” (47 units of information), copies of extraordinary reports about the emergency situation of sanitary-and-epidemiologic nature (47 items).

RESULTS: The incidence of COVID-19 among healthcare workers (40.1‰) correlated with the same indicator in the adult population and was 2.6 times higher. The incidence of pneumonia and COVID-19 deaths in health care workers and adults did not differ. The complete set of personal protective equipment was observed in contact with the sick from 100.0 to 62.5% in various departments. More than half of the affected employees had a source of infection in the immediate environment, in 63.2% of cases it was colleagues. The most likely places of infection were places of work (66.8%) and places of residence (30.3%).

CONCLUSIONS: The epidemic process of coronavirus infection among employees of medical organizations correlated with the incidence of adult population had a higher incidence rate than among them, without differing in severity and outcomes of COVID-19. The prevalence of morbidity in medical organizations was the predominance among the affected employees of medical organizations. Conditions that contribute to infection were various violations of preventive and anti-epidemic measures, including the use of personal protective equipment.