SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers in Northern Italy

We included 142 HCWs (healthcare workers) from our hospital with nasopharyngeal swabs positive for COVID-19, diagnosed from 10th March to 10th April 2020, with at least 45 days of follow-up. Healthcare workers have been affected significantly; in particular, Lombardy has been one of the most severely affected regions in Europe. This study analysed the time required to clear COVID-19 infection in positive HCWs. On multivariate analysis, the only predictive factor associated with a longer time to viral clearance was the presence of fever (relative risk 11.45, P<0.0001); gender, age, hospitalization and other symptoms (anosmia/dysgeusia) were not significantly associated with a longer time to viral clearance. The present study suggests that symptomatic patients (especially with fever) have longer viral shedding than asymptomatic ones and this observation must be taken into consideration to determine the optimal duration of quarantine. More studies are needed in this field.