Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37792687›Full record

ArticlePloS one2023

SARS-CoV-2 infection in 3,241 School working staffs: Impact of SARS CoV-2 variants of concern [Wild, B.1.1.7 and Omicron].

Moza Alishaq, Jameela Ali Al Ajmi, Mohammed Shaheen, Mohamed Elgendy, Suni Vinoy, Anil George Thomas, Sam Joseph, Tintu Elizabeth Mathew, Renjith Joseph, Christymol Thomas and 5 more

Erratum issuedOpen access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 39% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Moza AlishaqCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Jameela Ali Al AjmiCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Mohammed ShaheenCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Mohamed ElgendyFaculty of Medicine, Universiti Sains of Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Suni VinoyCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Anil George ThomasCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Sam JosephCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Tintu Elizabeth MathewCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Renjith JosephCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Christymol ThomasCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Anju K AlexCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Bincy ThomasCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Asmaa NafadyFaculty of Medicine, Clinical and Chemical Pathology Department, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
Hamed ElgendyAnesthesia Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Hanaa Nafady-HegoCorporate Quality Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0002-5562-0245
Hamad Medical Corporation · QAHospital Universiti Sains Malaysia · MYSouth Valley University · EGWeill Cornell Medical College in Qatar · QA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is debate over whether physical attendance at school affects the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

methodsA cohort of personnel from several schools in Qatar provided nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and rapid antigen testing. Each of them was monitored for infection until February 2022.

resultsIn total, 3,241 employees gave samples for analysis. Prior to the start of the 2020-2021 academic year (Group I), 3.49% of samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Most of the positive PCR results were from male, senior, non-teaching staff members. Only 110 (3.39%) employees who had enrolled in face-to-face instruction before the B.1.1.7 variant's emergence (Group II), 238 (7.34%) after the B.1.1.7 variant's emergence (Group III), and 410 (12.65%) after the introduction of the Omicron variant (Group IV) had reported infection by PCR test. Most people who tested positive by PCR after enrolling in school were young, female teachers. In the Cox Proportional-Hazards Model, exposure to a confirmed case, the presence of symptoms in the two weeks prior to exposure in all groups-young age in Groups II and III, male gender in Groups I and IV, shared housing in Group III, and the presence of comorbidities in Groups II and III independently predicted SARS-CoV-2 infection in school staff.

conclusionCritical information about the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in school workers during the whole pandemic is provided by our study. School operations in Qatar were made safer through initial and ongoing screenings, as well as widespread vaccination of school personnel.

Indexed as

COVID-19SARS-CoV-2FemaleHumansMalePolymerase Chain ReactionSchools

Identifiers

PMID37792687
PMCPMC10550119
OpenAlexW4387331565

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.