Pascale HUYNEN

Prof. Pascale HUYNEN

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège, Liège, Wallonia, Belgium
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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

8Years (2019-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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14 June 2022 in Viruses
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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MMMajdouline El Moussaoui
Majdouline El Moussaoui
NMNathalie Maes
Nathalie Maes
SHSamuel Hong
Samuel Hong
NLNicolas Lambert
Nicolas Lambert
SGStéphanie Gofflot
Stéphanie Gofflot
GDGilles Darcis
Gilles Darcis
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are known to be at higher risk of developing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections although whether these risks are equal across all occupational roles is uncertain. Identifying these risk factors and understand SARS-CoV-2 transmission pathways in healthcare settings are of high importance to achieve optimal protection measures. We aimed to investigate the implementation of a voluntary screening program for SARS-CoV-2 infections among hospital HCWs and to elucidate potential transmission pathways though phylogenetic analysis before the vaccination era. HCWs of the University Hospital of Liège, Belgium, were invited to participate in voluntary reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays performed every week from April to December 2020. Phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes were performed for a subgroup of 45 HCWs. 5095 samples were collected from 703 HCWs. 212 test results were positive, 15 were indeterminate, and 4868 returned negative. 156 HCWs (22.2%) tested positive at least once during the study period. All SARS-CoV-2 test results returned negative for 547 HCWs (77.8%). Nurses (p < 0.05), paramedics (p < 0.05), and laboratory staff handling respiratory samples (p < 0.01) were at higher risk for being infected compared to the control non-patient facing group. Our phylogenetic analysis revealed that most positive samples corresponded to independent introduction events into the hospital. Our findings add to the growing evidence of differential risks of being infected among HCWs and support the need to implement appropriate protection measures based on each individual’s risk profile to guarantee the protection of both HCWs and patients. Furthermore, our phylogenetic investigations highlight that most positive samples correspond to distinct introduction events into the hospital.

1 August 2019 in Journal of Virological Methods
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
SBSébastien Bontems
Sébastien Bontems
RBRaphaël Boreux
Raphaël Boreux
VCValérie Capraro
Valérie Capraro
PHPascale HUYNEN
Pascale HUYNEN
JDJulie Descy
Julie Descy
CMCécile Meex
Cécile Meex