Navigating the pandemic storm: Two years of tracking COVID-19 cases at a university in northeastern Brazil

IF 2.3 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1016/j.cegh.2024.101863

Marina dos Santos Barreto , Ronaldy Santana Santos , Eloia Emanuelly Dias Silva , Deise Maria Rego Rodrigues Silva , Pedro Henrique Macedo Moura , Pamela Chaves de Jesus , Jessiane Bispo de Souza , Leticia Milena Machado dos Santos , Rajiv Gandhi Gopalsamy , Lucas Alves da Mota Santana , Adriana Gibara Guimarães , Lysandro Pinto Borges

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil led to the suspension of face-to-face classes. However, the importance of continuing this activity made it necessary to return to these activities. This study assessed COVID-19 cases at a university in Brazil before and after the return to face-to-face classes.

Methods

This study evaluated the positivity rate of COVID-19 cases through antigen testing over two years (April 2021–23) in a group of students and university staff in northeastern Brazil.

Results

We found that of the 2,635 tests performed, 711 (27.0 %) had a detectable result throughout the period. We found no differences between the viral presence and age group, presence of symptoms, or position at universities (students or staff). Males had a greater tendency to present a detectable result compared to women. January, February, and July, 2022 show an increase in detected cases compared to other months. This result follows the national increase in cases caused by the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant and its subvariants (BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, and BA.3) circulating in Brazil in these months.

Conclusions

Our study makes it possible to monitor active cases of COVID-19 at a time when new variants are emerging and classes are resuming, contributing to the safety of the academic community and minimizing the viral impact on the return to classes in the institution.

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来源期刊

Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

7.70%

发文量

218

审稿时长

66 days

期刊介绍： Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health (CEGH) is a multidisciplinary journal and it is published four times (March, June, September, December) a year. The mandate of CEGH is to promote articles on clinical epidemiology with focus on developing countries in the context of global health. We also accept articles from other countries. It publishes original research work across all disciplines of medicine and allied sciences, related to clinical epidemiology and global health. The journal publishes Original articles, Review articles, Evidence Summaries, Letters to the Editor. All articles published in CEGH are peer-reviewed and published online for immediate access and citation.