Seroprevalence of Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in Staff of Khyber Medical University, Peshawar

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged as a global health threat. Various studies
conducted in different healthcare systems/setups indicated that healthcare workers are at increased risk for COVID-19. To
find out the seroprevalence of COVID-19 in staff members of different institutions of Khyber Medical University,
Peshawar.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Khyber medical university Peshawar. The sampling
was done from February 2021 to March 2021. A total of 352 samples were collected. Data was collected on a preformed
questionnaire after obtaining written informed consent. 3ml of blood was collected in gel top to determine IgM and IgG
antibody levels by indirect manual ELISA technique. Data were recorded and analyzed in SPSS version 24.

Amongst the staff of KMU, a total of 54.8% cases were reported as asymptomatic, 14.4% as confirmed (with the
highest IgG seropositivity of 86.2%), 14.4% as suspected, and 16.1% as probable cases of COVID-19. While out of
confirmed cases of COVID-19, 86.2% with mild, 7.8% with moderate, and 5.8% cases with severe disease were
documented, respectively. 1.7% of samples were seropositive for IgM antibodies, while 58.2% were found positive for
IgG antibodies. Amongst the KMU's Faculty, the Administrative Staff group was found to have the highest seropositivity
of IgG antibodies of about 60.7%.

KMU staff was at significant risk of getting in contact with the virus due to the operationalization of the
university throughout the pandemic as well as the deployment of university staff at the public health reference laboratory
(PHRL). Follow-up studies are required to assess the longevity of both IgM & IgG antibodies and to explore further the
kinetics of antibodies