IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i23p12545-d690251.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Seroprevalence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among Municipal Staff in the Municipality of Prishtina

Author

Listed:
  • Bujar Gashi

    (Main Family Medical Centre, Municipality of Prishtina, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo
    Authors contributed equally to this manuscript.)

  • Vesa Osmani

    (Evidence Synthesis Group, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo
    Authors contributed equally to this manuscript.)

  • Rrezart Halili

    (Main Family Medical Centre, Municipality of Prishtina, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo)

  • Teuta Hoxha

    (Main Family Medical Centre, Municipality of Prishtina, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo)

  • Agron Kamberi

    (Main Family Medical Centre, Municipality of Prishtina, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo)

  • Nexhmedin Hoti

    (Main Family Medical Centre, Municipality of Prishtina, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo)

  • Riaz Agahi

    (Research Unit, Heimerer College, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo)

  • Vlora Basha

    (IndexKosova, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo)

  • Visar Berisha

    (IndexKosova, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo)

  • Ilir Hoxha

    (Evidence Synthesis Group, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo
    Research Unit, Heimerer College, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo
    The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Lebanon, NH 03766, USA)

Abstract

Background: Some studies have assessed the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in different populations. Very few studies have explored seroprevalence in municipal workers, an important and potentially high-risk population. This study aims to determine the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in municipal workers, with the additional examination of the association of prevalence with various demographic, health-related, and epidemiological factors. Methods: We surveyed and tested for seroprevalence 418 public servants from the municipality of Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo. The primary prespecified outcome was the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, IgG, and IgM. Additional outcomes were crude and adjusted odds ratios of seroprevalence by different factors. Results: 21.1% of municipal workers tested positive for either IgM or IgG. Of these, 9.6% were positive for IgM and 19.4% for IgG. Data showed high levels of adherence to protective measures, e.g., social distancing in the office, but calculation of ORs did not show a significant difference between those reporting adherence to such measures and those reporting nonadherence. Of other examined factors, significantly lower odds were observed for smokers (0.52, 95% CI 0.28, 0.97), while municipal workers with infected family members had elevated odds of seropositivity according to both crude (2.19, 95% CI 1.34, 3.59) and adjusted (2.00, 95% CI 1.17, 3.41) ORs. Conclusions: Most answers from public servants demonstrated compliance to social-distancing policies in the workplace, but analysis of crude and adjusted odds ratios did not suggest a significant effect between municipal workers who followed these guidelines and those who did not. Results from this study help Kosovo policy makers in understanding the level of prevalence of COVID-19 in municipal workers and the effect of different factors on such prevalence. Results from the study could inform future decisions on the design and application of protective measures for municipal workers. Our findings should encourage further research to assess the extent of the spread of COVID-19 to other essential workers in Kosovo, including retail workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Bujar Gashi & Vesa Osmani & Rrezart Halili & Teuta Hoxha & Agron Kamberi & Nexhmedin Hoti & Riaz Agahi & Vlora Basha & Visar Berisha & Ilir Hoxha, 2021. "Seroprevalence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among Municipal Staff in the Municipality of Prishtina," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-11, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12545-:d:690251
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12545/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12545/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jose Tuells & Cecilia M. Egoavil & María Angeles Pena Pardo & Ana C. Montagud & Emilia Montagud & Pablo Caballero & Pedro Zapater & Joan Puig-Barberá & Jose Antonio Hurtado-Sanchez, 2021. "Seroprevalence Study and Cross-Sectional Survey on COVID-19 for a Plan to Reopen the University of Alicante (Spain)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-16, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kacper Nijakowski & Anna Lehmann & Jakub Zdrojewski & Monika Nowak & Anna Surdacka, 2021. "The Effectiveness of the Blended Learning in Conservative Dentistry with Endodontics on the Basis of the Survey among 4th-Year Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-15, April.
    2. Dorine Decarreaux & Julie Sevila & Shirley Masse & Lisandru Capai & Toscane Fourié & Paola Mariela Saba Villarroel & Abdennour Amroun & Elif Nurtop & Matthieu Vareille & Marie Pouquet & Thierry Blanch, 2022. "A Cross-Sectional Study of Exposure Factors Associated with Seropositivity for SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies during the Second Epidemic Wave among a Sample of the University of Corsica (France)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-12, February.
    3. Giuseppe Migliara & Erika Renzi & Valentina Baccolini & Ambrogio Cerri & Pierluigi Donia & Azzurra Massimi & Carolina Marzuillo & Corrado De Vito & Leandro Casini & Antonella Polimeni & Eugenio Gaudio, 2022. "Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in University Students: A Case-Control Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-13, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12545-:d:690251. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.