COVID-19 Prevalence among Czech Dentists.

Autoři	SCHMIDT Jan PEŘINA Vojtěch TREGLEROVÁ Jana PILBAUEROVA Nela SUCHANEK Jan SMUCLER Roman
Rok publikování	2021
Druh	Článek v odborném periodiku
Časopis / Zdroj	INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Fakulta / Pracoviště MU	Lékařská fakulta
Citace
www	https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12488#cite
Doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312488
Klíčová slova	COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; prevalence; dentistry; pandemic; dentist; occupational health; infection
Popis	This work evaluates the prevalence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), among members of the Czech Dental Chamber. The assessment was based on an online questionnaire filled out by 2716 participants, representing 24.3% of all chamber members. Overall, 25.4% of the participants admitted they were diagnosed with COVID-19 by 30 June 2021, with no statistical differences between the sexes. While in the age groups under 50 the reported prevalence was around 30%, with increasing age, it gradually decreased to 15.2% in the group over 70 years. The work environment was identified as a place of contagion by 38.4% of the respondents. The total COVID-19 PCR-verified positivity was 13.9%, revealing a statistically lower prevalence (p = 0.0180) compared with the Czech general population, in which the COVID-19 PCR-verified positivity was ~15.6% (fourth highest rank in the world). The total infection–hospitalization ratio (IHR) was 2.8%, and the median age group of hospitalized individuals was 60–70 years. For respondents older than 60 years, the IHR was 8.7%, and for those under 40 years, it was 0%. Of the respondents, 37.7% admitted that another team member was diagnosed with COVID-19, of which the most frequently mentioned profession was a nurse/dental assistant (81.2%). The results indicate that although the dentist profession is associated with a high occupational risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, well-chosen antiepidemic measures adopted by dental professionals may outweigh it.