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Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 infection study at Ulm University

Schoen, M.; Lindenau, C.; Boeckers, A.; Altrock, C.-M.; Krys, L.; Nosanova, A.; Lang, N.; Reny, A.; Kroschel, J.; Pensel, E.; Grab, C.; Mayer, B.; Messerer, D. A. C.; Fassnacht, U.; Delling, J. P.; Horneffer, A.; Zernickel, M.; Debatin, K.-M.; Muench, J.; Kirchhoff, F.; Wirth, T.; Boeckers, T. M.

2021-05-06 infectious diseases
10.1101/2021.05.04.21256382 medRxiv
Show abstract

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities around the world were challenged by the difficult decision whether classes could be held face-to-face in the winter semester 20/21. The gross anatomy course is considered an essential practical element of medical school. In order to protect the participants and teaching staff and to gain more knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 infections among students during a semester with face-to-face teaching a longitudinal test study was conducted. Medical students from the first three years of medical school were also invited. Out of a total of almost 1,000 swabs, only two active asymptomatic infections were detected at the start of the semester, none during the semester. At semester start, approximately 6% of the students had antibodies. At the end of the semester, only nine seroconversions after infection in 671 individuals occurred. This was surprisingly low because a massive second wave of infections hit Germany during the same period. The conclusion therefore is that face-to-face teaching under these measures was not infection-promoting even with high incidence rates in the overall population with the SARS-CoV-2 variants present at that time period. Moreover, the results are indicative of a preventive effect of hygiene concepts together with repetitive testings before and during a semester.

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