SARS-COV-2 Seroprevalence and Seroconversion Among Employees of the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel During the 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak

SARS-COV-2 Seroprevalence and Seroconversion Among Employees of the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel During the 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak

A novel zoonotic coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan (Hubei Province, China) mid-December 2019 and was named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus rapidly spread to the rest of the world, including Europe and explicitly affects the respiratory system, generating Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This study is a monocentric interventional prospective cohort study. After signing a written informed consent, participants will be recruited for questionnaire completion and blood sampling. Sample storage and analysis will be performed at the laboratory of microbiology of the UZ Brussel.

• To document SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among employees of the UZ Brussel at day 0 (i.e. at beginning of the study, planned early May 2020), month 2 and month 5.
• To document number of SARS-CoV-2 seroconversions among employees of the UZ Brussel over a period of 5 months.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Any adult employee of the UZ Brussel who provided a signed informed consent to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• UZ Brussel employees whose contract expires within 6 months of study initiation, with the exception of resident trainees (if training continues in another hospital, resident trainees will be asked to perform the last sampling when leaving the UZ Brussel).
• Staff not active during the inclusion period