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Gunawardana M, Breslin J, Cortez JM, Rivera S, Webster S, Ibarrondo FJ, Yang OO, Pyles RB, Ramirez CM, Adler AP, Anton PA, Baum MM. Longitudinal COVID-19 Surveillance and Characterization in the Workplace with Public Health and Diagnostic Endpoints. mSphere 2021; 6:e0054221. [PMID: 34232081 PMCID: PMC8386432 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00542-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Public health practices and high vaccination rates currently represent the primary interventions for managing the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We initiated a clinical study based on frequent, longitudinal workplace disease surveillance to control severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission among employees and their household members. We hypothesized that the study would reduce the economic burden and loss of productivity of both individuals and small businesses resulting from standard isolation methods, while providing new insights into virus-host dynamics. Study participants (27 employees and 27 household members) consented to provide frequent nasal or oral swab samples that were analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Two study participants were found to be infected by SARS-CoV-2 during the study. One subject, a household member, was SARS-CoV-2 RNA positive for at least 71 days and had quantifiable serum virus-specific antibody concentrations for over 1 year. One unrelated employee became positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA over the course of the study but remained asymptomatic, with low associated viral RNA copy numbers, no detectable serum IgM and IgG concentrations, and IgA concentrations that decayed rapidly (half-life: 1.3 days). A COVID-19 infection model was used to predict that without surveillance intervention, up to 7 employees (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3 to 10) would have become infected, with at most 1 of them requiring hospitalization. Our scalable and transferable surveillance plan met its primary objectives and represents a powerful example of an innovative public health initiative dovetailed with scientific discovery. IMPORTANCE The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the associated COVID-19 has precipitated a global pandemic heavily challenging our social behavior, economy, and health care infrastructure. In the absence of widespread, worldwide access to safe and effective vaccines and therapeutics, public health measures represent a key intervention for curbing the devastating impacts from the pandemic. We are conducting an ongoing clinical study based on frequent, longitudinal workplace disease surveillance to control SARS-CoV-2 transmission among employees and their household members. Our study was successful in surveying the viral and immune response dynamics in two participants with unusual infections: one remained positive for SARS-CoV-2 for 71 days, while the other was asymptomatic, with low associated viral RNA copy numbers. A COVID-19 infection model was used to predict that without surveillance intervention, up to 7 employees would have become infected, with at most 1 of them requiring hospitalization, underscoring the importance of our program.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manjula Gunawardana
- Department of Chemistry, Oak Crest Institute of Science, Monrovia, California, USA
| | - Jessica Breslin
- Department of Chemistry, Oak Crest Institute of Science, Monrovia, California, USA
| | - John M. Cortez
- Department of Chemistry, Oak Crest Institute of Science, Monrovia, California, USA
| | - Sofia Rivera
- Department of Chemistry, Oak Crest Institute of Science, Monrovia, California, USA
| | - Simon Webster
- Department of Chemistry, Oak Crest Institute of Science, Monrovia, California, USA
| | - F. Javier Ibarrondo
- University of California, Los Angeles, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Otto O. Yang
- University of California, Los Angeles, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
- University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Richard B. Pyles
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
| | - Christina M. Ramirez
- University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Amy P. Adler
- Jumpstart Research Consulting, LLC, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
| | - Peter A. Anton
- Department of Chemistry, Oak Crest Institute of Science, Monrovia, California, USA
| | - Marc M. Baum
- Department of Chemistry, Oak Crest Institute of Science, Monrovia, California, USA
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