Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36438256›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2022

High rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in funeral home workers in Ecuador: Is it an occupational risk for COVID-19?

Esteban Ortiz-Prado, Jorge Eduardo Vásconez, Alexander Paolo Vallejo-Janeta, Diana Morales-Jadán, Aquiles R Henriquez-Trujillo, Ismar A Rivera-Olivero, Felipe Andrade, Tannya Lozada, Miguel Angel Garcia-Bereguiain, UDLA COVID-19 Team

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 40% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Esteban Ortiz-PradoOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
Jorge Eduardo VásconezOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
Alexander Paolo Vallejo-JanetaOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
Diana Morales-JadánOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
Aquiles R Henriquez-TrujilloOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
Ismar A Rivera-OliveroOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
Felipe AndradeOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
Tannya LozadaDecanato de Investigación y Vinculación, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
Miguel Angel Garcia-BereguiainOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
UDLA COVID-19 Team
Universidad de Las Américas · ECLatin University of Costa Rica · CR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Aim: The COVID-19 outbreak has already caused more than 6.5 million deaths, overwhelming health systems worldwide. The unusual demand for funeral home services could make these workers a potential risk group for occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2 associated with corpses management for COVID-19 patients. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study aimed to describe the infection rate of SARS-CoV-2 in funeral home staff by testing them with RT-qPCR in Quito, Ecuador. A total of 232 funeral home workers, representing more than 40% of funeral home personnel in Quito, were included in the study, in June 2020, immediately after the population lockdown was lifted in Ecuador. Results: A total of 48 individuals tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, yielding an infection rate of 20.7%. The SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was 18.1 and 20.0% among personnel managing corpses or not managing corpses, respectively. Among the SARS-CoV-2 positive patients, 81.3% reported no symptoms related to COVID-19, and 3 individuals had high viral loads over 10 Conclusion: The high SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in funeral home staff suggested a potential occupational risk for COVID-19 but not related to corpses management. Public health guidelines for safe corpses management for COVID-19 victims and safe funeral services should be reinforced.

Indexed as

COVID-19Funeral HomesCadaverCommunicable Disease ControlCross-Sectional StudiesEcuadorHumansSARS-CoV-2COVID-19Ecuadorfuneral homesoccupational exposureSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID36438256
PMCPMC9692081
OpenAlexW4308803388

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.