Dental professionals for increased risk of COVID-19 infection a newly published study reports.
The observational cohort study, published today (3 June 2021) in the Journal of Dental Research, involved 1,507 Midland dental care practitioners. Blood samples were taken from the cohort at the start of the study in June 2020 to measure their levels of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Blood samples of 1,570 dentists, dental nurses, and dental hygienists in the United Kingdom were studied. The reported findings were that 16.3% of the participants had Sar-CoV2 antibodies versus an estimated 6% to 7% of the general population.
First author Dr Adrian Shields, of the University of Birmingham's Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, said: "Understanding what an antibody test result means to an individual with respect to their risk of infection is essential to controlling the pandemic.
"Our study has taken the first steps in defining the level of antibody in a persons' blood necessary to protect them from infection for six months. Furthermore, by comparing the antibody levels we have found in dentists to those contained in widely available reference material produced by the World Health Organization, we hope the protective level we found can be easily confirmed and compared by other laboratories.
Shields AM, Faustini SE, Kristunas CA, Cook AM, Backhouse C, Dunbar L, Ebanks D, Emmanuel B, Crouch E, Kröger A, Hirschfeld J, Sharma P, Jaffery R, Nowak S, Gee S, Drayson MT, Richter AG, Dietrich T, Chapple ILC. COVID-19: Seroprevalence and Vaccine Responses in UK Dental Care Professionals. J Dent Res. 2021 Jun 2:220345211020270. doi: 10.1177/00220345211020270. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34077690.
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