Asymptomatic Carriers of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Among Healthcare Workers in Isfahan, Iran
Hamed Fakhim, Elahe Nasri, Shima Aboutalebian, Sahar Gholipour, Mahnaz Nikaeen, Afsane Vaezi, Somayeh Mousavi, Sama Faramarzi, Armin Farhang, Shaghayegh Haghjooy Javanmard, Mehrdad Salahi, Ali Darakhshandeh, Kazem Ahmadikia, Hossein Mirhendi
Abstract
Aim: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Isfahan, Iran. Materials & methods: HCWs in COVID-19 wards of three referral COVID-19 hospitals in Isfahan were screened and tested for COVID-19 infection. Results: In total, 102 HCWs were screened whose median age was 43 years old. Moreover, 21 (20.5%) of them had a history of suspected infection with SARS-CoV2, mostly (66.6%) without any symptoms while six (28.5%) of them suffered from relatively mild diseases and one (4.7%) was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism. Conclusion: It was found that HCWs were prone to be asymptomatic carriers while their computed tomography images were normal. Therefore, it is recommended that reverse-transcriptase real-time-PCR be essential for the diagnosis of infections.