Serological survey following SARS-COV-2 outbreaks at long-term care facilities in metro Vancouver, British Columbia: Implications for outbreak management and infection control policies

Rohit Vijh; Cher Ghafari; Althea Hayden; Michael Schwandt; Inna Sekirov; Muhammad Morshed; Paul Levett; Mel Krajden; Suni Boraston; Patricia Daly; Mark Lysyshyn; John Harding; Meghan McLennan; Navdeep Chahil; Annie Mak; Geoff McKee

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2020.10.009

Serological survey following SARS-COV-2 outbreaks at long-term care facilities in metro Vancouver, British Columbia: Implications for outbreak management and infection control policies

Am J Infect Control. 2021 May;49(5):649-652. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2020.10.009. Epub 2020 Oct 18.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: Rohit.Vijh@vch.ca.
² Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
³ School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁴ British Columbia Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁵ Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services, Provincial Health Services Authority, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁶ British Columbia Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Abstract

A cross-sectional serological survey was carried out in two long-term care facilities that experienced COVID-19 outbreaks in order to evaluate current clinical COVID-19 case definitions. Among individuals with a negative or no previous COVID-19 diagnostic test, myalgias, headache, and loss of appetite were associated with serological reactivity. The US CDC probable case definition was also associated with seropositivity. Public health and infection control practitioners should consider these findings for case exclusion in outbreak settings.

Keywords: COVID-19; Case exclusion; Case identification; Clinical case definition; Public health; Serology.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
British Columbia / epidemiology
COVID-19 / diagnosis*
COVID-19 / epidemiology
COVID-19 / prevention & control
COVID-19 Serological Testing*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Disease Outbreaks / prevention & control*
Female
Health Policy
Humans
Infection Control*
Long-Term Care
Male
Middle Aged
Public Health
SARS-CoV-2* / isolation & purification