FAMILY TRANSMISSION SARS-CoV-2: CARE MUST CONTINUE AT HOME

Abstract

The COVID-19 disease caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which occurred in the city of Wuhan, in China, spread rapidly around the world causing many deaths. This study sought to identify a prevalence of familial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the municipality of Santa Cruz do Sul (RS). It is an excerpt from a cross-sectional population-based study that measured the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the central region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The process consists of a systematic sampling of the census sectors, followed by a simple random drawing of households in each sector, according to the stipulated sample size. In each household, a person was randomly selected and invited to participate in the study, performing a rapid diagnostic test for a qualitative detection of IgG and IgM against SARS-CoV-2. If there is an IgM reagent test, all residents present in the household at the time of collection were tested. An online form was used to collect data, with information on the sociodemographic characteristics and health issues of the interviewee. A total of 1158 people were interviewed, with an average age of 49.5±19,0 years, with 62.7% being female and 80.4% living in the urban area. Among the 33 cases identified with rapid reactor tests, 23 family members were present at the time of collection, totaling 46 family members tested. The findings found that the prevalence of family transmission is 47.8%, demonstrating that it is essential to raise awareness among the population regarding the care that must be taken to avoid the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, especially in shared environments, such as in the family environment