Morbidity of the new coronavirus infection among the staff of the department for the treatment of patients with tuberculosis and COVID-19 co-infection

During the period of rising COVID-19 morbidity in Moscow, a specialized department for the treatment of patients with tuberculosis combined with COVID-19 was established in the Moscow Research and Clinical Center for Tuberculosis Control. Employees of this department are a higher risk group for COVID-19 morbidity due to close contact with patients. The aim was to assess the incidence of new coronavirus infection among the staff of the department for the treatment of tuberculosis patients combined with COVID-19 in comparison with the staff of other departments of the TB organization in the period 2020–2023. Methods . The incidence rates of new coronavirus infection were analyzed among the staff of the department for treatment of tuberculosis combined with COVID-19 (group 1, 143 people) and staff of other departments not involved in the provision of medical care to COVID-19 patients (group 2, 2815 people) in the period from April 1, 2020 to December 31, 2023. Results . During the study period, 94.4% of group 1 and 54.2% of group 2 staff, respectively, became ill. The morbidity rates of covid unit staff were higher than those of staff in other units: 2-fold in 2021, 4.1-fold in 2022, and 15.5-fold in 2023 (p<0.05). Among those who became ill, the proportions of nursing and paramedical staff were predominant (56.9% and 59.0%), compared to physicians (17.9%) and other staff (14.3%), p < 0,05. Conclusion . The risk of infection of staff of COVID-19 treatment units during their work exceeds the risk of infection of medical workers of other departments who do not work with patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, despite high vaccination coverage and use of personal protective equipment, which requires the development of additional preventive measures.