Low Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Rhode Island Blood Donors Determined using Multiple Serological Assay Formats

Nesbitt, D; Jin, Daniel; Hogan, Joseph W.; Chan, Philip A.; Simon, Melissa J.; Vargas, Matthew; King, Ewa; Huard, Richard C.; Bandy, Utpala; Hillyer, Christopher D.; Luchsinger, Larry L.

doi:10.1101/2020.07.20.20157743

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Our findings are also in line with previous studies which showed that early in the pandemic the seroprevalence of Covid-19 in blood donors or other nontargeted populations was very low ranging from 0% to 2.0% (Erikstrup et al, 2021, Godbout et al, 2020, Qutob et al, 2020, Xu et al, 2020, Ho et al, 2020, Banjar et al, 2021, Nesbitt et al, 2021Slot et al, 2020, Fiore et al, 2021, Saeed et al, 2021). However other studies especially those from hardly hit communities early in the pandemic showed relatively high rates up to 23% (Percivalle et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Among the populations tested are healthy blood donors (Sughayer et al, 2020, Slot et al, 2020, Daniel J. Nesbitt et al, 2021, Gallian et al, 2020, Olariu et al, 2021, Younas et al, 2020, Banjar et al, 2021, Uyoga et al, 2021, Busch and Stone, 2021, Martinez-Acuña et al, 2020, Saeed et al, 2021, Slot et al, 2020, Fiore et al, 2021). Again the seroprevalence among healthy blood donors and other population groups studied varied according to the community tested and the time of testing in terms of the pandemic evolution (Lai et al, 2020, Rostami et al, 2020)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dramatic Rise of Seroprevalence Rates of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among Healthy Blood Donors: The evolution of a Pandemic

Sughayer

Mansour

Nuirat

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in more than 106 million cases of confirmed infection and more than 2.3 million deaths worldwide as of February 11th 2021. Seroprevalence studies are extremely useful in studying and assessing the epidemiological status in the community and the degree of spread. They help decision makers in implementing or relaxing mitigating measures to contain the disease in addition to other benefits. Objective: To study the seroprevalence rates of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among healthy blood donors in Jordan, at various points of time as the pandemic evolves in the community. Methods: A total of 1374 blood donor were tested for the SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 3 groups. The first group of 746 and the second of 348 individuals were tested in June and September of 2020 respectively. The 3rd group of 292 were tested in early February of 2021. We utilized a qualitative assay that uses Electrochemiluminescence method (ECLIA) that has a specificity and sensitivity of 99.8% and 100% respectively. Results: The first 2 groups representing the months of January to September of 2020, where the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases were several hundred to 3000 showed a seroprevalence rate of 0% (95% CI 0.00%, 0.51%). The 3rd group representing late January and early February 2021 when the number of reported confirmed case has reached 100 folds the numbers of September 2020, showed a seroprevalence of 27.4% (95% CI 22.5% and 32.9%). Conclusions: a dramatic rise in seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was seen among healthy blood donors in Jordan in parallel with wide-spread intracommunity transmission of the disease. This information is useful to assess the degree of herd immunity and provides for better understanding of the pandemic.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dramatic Rise of Seroprevalence Rates of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among Healthy Blood Donors: The evolution of a Pandemic

Sughayer

Mansour

Nuirat

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…These attack rate estimates use symptomatic case data through September 6, as an infection on August 31 would have its mean time of symptoms occurrence six days later. The Rhode Island attack rate is able to be validated with a 2.2% late-April attack-rate estimate obtained from a household sero-survey [30] and 0.6% early-April estimate from blood donors [31] (population biased towards healthier individuals). Our Pennsylvania-wide attack rate has a Philadelphia early-April estimate of 3.2% as a comparator [32], as well as a 6.4% estimate from July using serum from dialysis patients (not adjusted for race or socio-economic indicators, and thus biased upward) [33].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 epidemic after social and economic reopening in three US states reveals shifts in age structure and clinical characteristics

Wikle

Tran

Gentilesco

et al. 2020

Preprint

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In the United States, state-level re-openings in spring 2020 presented an opportunity for the resurgence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. One important question during this time was whether human contact and mixing patterns could increase gradually without increasing viral transmission, the rationale being that new mixing patterns would likely be associated with improved distancing, masking, and hygiene practices. A second key question to follow during this time was whether clinical characteristics of the epidemic would improve after the initial surge of cases. Here, we analyze age-structured case, hospitalization, and death time series from three states – Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania – that had successful re-openings in May 2020 without summer waves of infection. Using a Bayesian inference framework on eleven daily data streams and flexible daily population contact parameters, we show that population-average mixing rates dropped by >50% during the lockdown period in March/April, and that the correlation between overall population mobility and transmission-capable mobility was broken in May as these states partially re-opened. We estimate the reporting rates (fraction of symptomatic cases reporting to health system) at 96.0% (RI), 72.1% (MA), and 75.5% (PA); in Rhode Island, when accounting for cases caught through general-population screening programs, the reporting rate estimate is 94.5%. We show that elderly individuals were less able to reduce contacts during the lockdown period when compared to younger individuals, leading to the outbreak being concentrated in elderly congregate settings despite the lockdown. Attack rate estimates through August 31 2020 are 6.4% (95% CI: 5.8% − 7.3%) of the total population infected for Rhode Island, 5.7% (95% CI: 5.0% − 6.8%) in Massachusetts, and 3.7% (95% CI: 3.1% − 4.5%) in Pennsylvania, with some validation available through published seroprevalence studies. Infection fatality rates (IFR) estimates are higher in our analysis (>2%) than previously reported values, likely resulting from the epidemics in these three states affecting the most vulnerable sub-populations, especially the most vulnerable of the ≥80 age group. We make several suggestions for enhancements to current data collection practices that could improve response efforts in winter.

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“…The overall seroprevalence in New York City, at the peak of the epidemic, was estimated to be 21% with some communities as high as 68% using data from emergency care clinics [ 27 ]. This is juxtaposed to neighboring states, such as Rhode Island, where we estimated seroconversion to be 0.6% among blood donors in May 2020 [ 28 ]. Given the early introduction of SARS-CoV-2 in the NYC Metro area in March of 2020 as an initial, and possibly largest, ‘hot-spot’ in the United States, the estimated seroprevalence in this study may be lower than anticipated due to naturally waning antibody titers [ 29 ] (or due to demographics of donor population relative to the NYC population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a cohort of New York City metro blood donors using multiple SARS-CoV-2 serological assays: Implications for controlling the epidemic and “Reopening”

et al. 2021

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Projections of the stage of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and local, regional and national public health policies to limit coronavirus spread as well as “reopen” cities and states, are best informed by serum neutralizing antibody titers measured by reproducible, high throughput, and statically credible antibody (Ab) assays. To date, a myriad of Ab tests, both available and FDA authorized for emergency, has led to confusion rather than insight per se. The present study reports the results of a rapid, point-in-time 1,000-person cohort study using serial blood donors in the New York City metropolitan area (NYC) using multiple serological tests, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and high throughput serological assays (HTSAs). These were then tested and associated with assays for neutralizing Ab (NAb). Of the 1,000 NYC blood donor samples in late June and early July 2020, 12.1% and 10.9% were seropositive using the Ortho Total Ig and the Abbott IgG HTSA assays, respectively. These serological assays correlated with neutralization activity specific to SARS-CoV-2. The data reported herein suggest that seroconversion in this population occurred in approximately 1 in 8 blood donors from the beginning of the pandemic in NYC (considered March 1, 2020). These findings deviate with an earlier seroprevalence study in NYC showing 13.7% positivity. Collectively however, these data demonstrate that a low number of individuals have serologic evidence of infection during this “first wave” and suggest that the notion of “herd immunity” at rates of ~60% or higher are not near. Furthermore, the data presented herein show that the nature of the Ab-based immunity is not invariably associated with the development of NAb. While the blood donor population may not mimic precisely the NYC population as a whole, rapid assessment of seroprevalence in this cohort and serial reassessment could aid public health decision making.

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Low Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Rhode Island Blood Donors Determined using Multiple Serological Assay Formats

Cited by 9 publications

References 16 publications

Dramatic Rise of Seroprevalence Rates of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among Healthy Blood Donors: The evolution of a Pandemic

Dramatic Rise of Seroprevalence Rates of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among Healthy Blood Donors: The evolution of a Pandemic

SARS-CoV-2 epidemic after social and economic reopening in three US states reveals shifts in age structure and clinical characteristics

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a cohort of New York City metro blood donors using multiple SARS-CoV-2 serological assays: Implications for controlling the epidemic and “Reopening”

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