A recent study found that coronavirus antibodies were detected in 18% of the staff at Tallaght University Hospital. The study, conducted by about 1,200 people (one-third of staff) at the hospital, involved people working in all departments of the hospital.
Almost all hospital staff, including doctors, nurses, lab assistants, social workers, cleaning staff, and electricians, participated in the study. The study was conducted from mid-July to mid-October.
The corona virus antibody detection rate is 20% for staff who have more direct contact with patients and 13% for those with less direct contact with the patient.
Meanwhile, 12% of the participants were diagnosed with COVID-19 at some point during a swab test prior to taking part in the study. By excluding those 12%, the overall percentage of those confirmed to have been infected was 7.5% and more than half of those suspected to have been infected at some point.
The study will last 12 months so antibody levels will continue to be tested at different times for willing participants.
The consultant microbiologist, Dr. Anna Rose said that a high proportion of COVID-19 infections could not be found in health workers.
According to the latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), 21.8% of COVID-19 cases in Ireland are among health care workers.
Based on a random test of 1,733 people aged 12 to 69 years in Sligo and Dublin, a HSE study found that 1.7% of people had COVID-19 antibodies.