Prevalence and Clinical Profile of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection among Farmworkers,California, USA,June–November 2020 |
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| Authors: | Joseph A. Lewnard Ana M. Mora Oguchi Nkwocha Katherine Kogut Stephen A. Rauch Norma Morga Samantha Hernandez Marcus P. Wong Karen Huen Kristin Andrejko Nicholas P. Jewell Kimberly L. Parra Nina Holland Eva Harris Maximiliano Cuevas Brenda Eskenazi on behalf of the CHAMACOS-Project-19 Study Team2 |
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| Affiliation: | University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA (J.A. Lewnard, A.M. Mora, K. Kogut, S.A. Rauch, S. Hernandez, M.P. Wong, K. Huen, K. Andrejko, N.P. Jewell, N. Holland, E. Harris, B. Eskenazi);Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica (A.M. Mora);Clínica de Salud del Valle de Salinas, Salinas, California, USA (O. Nkwocha, N. Morga, M. Cuevas);London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK (N.P. Jewell);University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA (K.L. Parra) |
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| Abstract: | During the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, farmworkers in the United States are considered essential personnel and continue in-person work. We conducted prospective surveillance for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and antibody prevalence among farmworkers in Salinas Valley, California, during June 15–November 30, 2020. We observed 22.1% (1,514/6,864) positivity for SARS-CoV-2 infection among farmworkers compared with 17.2% (1,255/7,305) among other adults from the same communities (risk ratio 1.29, 95% CI 1.20–1.37). In a nested study enrolling 1,115 farmworkers, prevalence of current infection was 27.7% among farmworkers reporting >1 COVID-19 symptom and 7.2% among farmworkers without symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 4.16, 95% CI 2.85–6.06). Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies increased from 10.5% (95% CI 6.0%–18.4%) during July 16–August 31 to 21.2% (95% CI 16.6%–27.4%) during November 1–30. High SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence among farmworkers underscores the need for vaccination and other preventive interventions. |
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| Keywords: | respiratory infections severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 SARS-CoV-2 SARS COVID-19 coronavirus disease zoonoses viruses coronavirus farmworkers infection prevalence serosurvey essential workers Salinas Valley California United States |
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