Inquérito soroepidemiológico do SARS-CoV-2 em agentes de segurança pública em Sergipe, nordeste do Brasil

Abstract

The infection caused by SARS-Cov-2 (coronavirus) is called Coronavirus 2019 Disease (COVID-19) and is characterized by a new type of infectious disease of the respiratory tract, which has been recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization ( WHO) on March 11, 2020. When the disease was introduced in Brazil, most cases were imported, and the strategy to contain the epidemic was based on the search and isolation of cases and contacts to avoid the continued spread of the virus. peer to peer. However, many workers, especially in essential services, fail to adopt adequate social distance during a pandemic. In this sense, this project aimed to carry out a seroepidemiological survey of SARS-Cov-2 infection in public security agents in Aracaju-SE. For this, an observational cross-sectional study was carried out in June 2020 and January 2021, with police officers and military firefighters, respectively. Participants were submitted to a questionnaire on socio-epidemiological aspects and collection of biological material to detect the presence of SARS-Cov-2 by RT-PCR and IgM and IgG antibodies through immunofluorescence assays. The two groups of workers were composed mainly of men, aged 45 years or less and residents of Aracaju. It was possible to notice that approximately 50% of the participants of both groups had positive RT-PCR for SARS-Cov-2, 62 (44.6%) being police officers, with a seroprevalence of 3 (2.2%) for IgM and 14 ( 10.1%) for IgG and firefighters 56 (45.5%), with seropositivity for IgM of 17 (13.8%) and IgG of 32 (26.0%). In most positive cases, workers were asymptomatic. There was a significant association between seropositivity for IgM and IgG in police officers (p = 0.0268*, OR = 20.67; 95%CI = 0.03 to 0.89) and in firefighters (p = 0.0416, with OR = 3.04 and 95% CI = 1.1 - 8.7), in addition to the association between IgG and previous covid-19 test reported by firefighters (p = 0.0064, OR = 4.9 and 95% CI = 1.6 to 15.2), as well as for police officers (p = 0.0010, OR = 6.47 and 95% CI = (0.15 to 0.63). Thus, it can be seen that these professionals are routinely exposed to the risk of contamination with the new coronavirus, presenting a considerable rate of infection and increased production of antibodies between the periods evaluated. It is noteworthy that the characteristics of the work can further increase the risk of infection, so the immunization of this category is essential for the safe provision of services for workers and for society.