SARS-CoV-2 screening among people living in homeless shelters in Brussels, Belgium

Subgroups of precarious populations such as homeless people are more exposed to infection and at higher risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19 compared to the general population. Many of the recommended prevention measures, such as social distancing and self-isolation, are not feasible for a po...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2021-06, Vol.16 (6), p.e0252886-e0252886
Main Authors: Roland, Michel, Ben Abdelhafidh, Louisa, Déom, Victoria, Vanbiervliet, Frank, Coppieters, Yves, Racapé, Judith
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biology and life sciences
Chronic illnesses
College faculty
Consent
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disease control
Epidemiology
Evaluation
Funding
Health aspects
Health care access
Health research
Health risks
Health services
Homeless people
Homeless persons
Homelessness
Hotels
Hotels & motels
Infections
Internet
Life expectancy
Life span
Medical tests
Medicine
Medicine and Health Sciences
Mental health
Morbidity
People and Places
Physicians
Population
Public health
Research facilities
Resources
Respiratory diseases
Risk factors
Scholarship
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Shelters
Signs and symptoms
Social inequality
Supervision
Symptoms
Teams
Tests
Viral diseases
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Summary:Subgroups of precarious populations such as homeless people are more exposed to infection and at higher risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19 compared to the general population. Many of the recommended prevention measures, such as social distancing and self-isolation, are not feasible for a population living in shelters characterised by physical proximity and a high population density. The objective of the study was to describe SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence in homeless shelters in Brussels (Belgium), and to identify risk factors and infection control practices associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates. A total of 1994 adults were tested by quantitative PCR tests in 52 shelters in Brussels (Belgium) between April and June, 2020, in collaboration with Doctors of the World. SARS-CoV-2 prevalence is here described site by site, and we identify risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates. We also investigate associations between seropositivity and reported symptoms. We found an overall prevalence of 4.6% for the period, and a cluster of high rates of SARS-CoV-2 positivity (20-30% in two shelters). Among homeless people, being under 40 years of age (OR (CI95%) 2.3 (1.2-4.4), p = 0.02), having access to urgent medical care (AMU) (OR(CI95%): 2.4 (1.4-4.4)], p = 0.02), and sharing a room with someone who tested positive (OR(CI95%): 5.3 (2.9-9.9), p
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0252886