Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36973531›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2023

Increased SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and spread of infection without awareness among healthcare workers through 2020-2022 in a Japanese medical center.

Rie Kanamori, Yan Yan, Kanami Ito, Hiroshi Fukuda, Satoshi Hori, Takamasa Yamamoto, Gene Igawa, Kaori Saito, Yuki Horiuchi, Shuko Nojiri and 4 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
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

14 authors.

Rie KanamoriDepartment of General Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Hongo 2-1-2, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
Yan YanDepartment of General Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Hongo 2-1-2, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
Kanami ItoDepartment of Safety and Health Promotion, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan.
Hiroshi FukudaDepartment of General Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Hongo 2-1-2, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
Satoshi HoriInfection Control Science, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Takamasa YamamotoDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Juntendo University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Gene IgawaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Juntendo University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Kaori SaitoDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuki HoriuchiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Shuko NojiriMedical Technology Innovation Center, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuji NishizakiDepartment of General Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Hongo 2-1-2, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
Yoko TabeDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Kazuhisa TakahashiDepartment of Research Support Utilizing Bioresource Bank, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Toshio NaitoDepartment of General Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Hongo 2-1-2, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan. naito@juntendo.ac.jp.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite Japan's high vaccination coverage, daily numbers of new COVID-19 cases have been high. However, studies on the seroprevalence among Japanese people and the causative factors for rapid spread have remained limited. In this study, we aimed to examine the seroprevalence and associated factors in healthcare workers (HCWs) of a medical center in Tokyo using blood samples drawn at annual check-ups from 2020 to 2022. We found that of the 3,788 HCWs in 2022 (by mid-June), 669 were seropositive for N-specific antibodies (tested by Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay); the seroprevalence surged from 0.3% in 2020 and 1.6% in 2021 to 17.7% in 2022. Notably, our study found 325 (48.6%; 325/669) cases were infected without awareness. Among those with a previously PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during the past three years, 79.0% (282/357) were found after January 2022, after the Omicron variant was first detected in Tokyo at the end of 2021. This study indicates the fast spread of the SARS-CoV-2 among HCWs during the Omicron surge in Japan. The high percentage of infection without awareness may be a key driving factor causing rapid person-to-person transmission, as shown in this medical center with high vaccination coverage and strict infection control measures.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health PersonnelAntibodies, ViralEast Asian PeopleHumansSARS-CoV-2Seroepidemiologic StudiesAntibodies, Viral

Identifiers

PMID36973531
PMCPMC10040914

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Read underepoch 390

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.