Monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Prevalence of Antibodies in a Large, Repetitive Cross-Sectional Study of Blood Donors in Germany—Results from the SeBluCo Study 2020–2022

Offergeld, Ruth; Preußel, Karina; Zeiler, T.; Aurich, Konstanze; Baumann-Baretti, Barbara I.; Ciesek, Sandra; Corman, Victor M.; Dienst, Viktoria; Drosten, Christian; Görg, Siegfried; Greinacher, Andreas; Grossegesse, Marica; Haller, Sebastian; Heuft, Hans‐Gert; Hofmann, Natalie; Horn, Peter A.; Houareau, Claudia; Gülec, Ilay; Klingberg, Carlos Luis Jiménez; Juhl, David; Lindemann, Monika; Martin, Silke; Neuhauser, Hannelore; Nitsche, Andreas; Ohme, Julia; Peine, Sven; Sachs, Ulrich J.; Schaade, Lars; Schäfer, Richard; Scheiblauer, Heinrich; Schlaud, Martin; Schmidt, Michael; Umhau, Markus; Vollmer, Tanja; Wagner, Franz F.; Wieler, Lothar H.; Wilking, Hendrik; Ziemann, Malte; Zimmermann, Marlow; Heiden, Matthias an der

doi:10.3390/pathogens12040551

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Through the utilization of routine laboratory blood samples for SARS-CoV-2 prevalence monitoring, we previously demonstrated that the true number of infections may be 3.93-5.66 times higher [8]. This is consistent with the findings of a similar nationwide study involving adults [9]. While current surveillance strategies predominantly rely on PCR testing, these revelations imply a significant underestimation by this method.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Routine Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Serostatus in Pediatrics Allows Monitoring of Humoral Response

Wachter,

Knieling,

Raming

et al. 2023

Microorganisms

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The occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infections during the pandemic was mainly based on PCR testing of symptomatic patients. However, with new variants, vaccinations, and the changing of the clinical disease severity, knowledge about general immunity is elusive. For public health systems, timely knowledge of these conditions is essential, but it is particularly scarce for the pediatric population. Therefore, in this study, we wanted to investigate the spike and nucleocapsid seroprevalence in pediatric patients using routine residual blood tests collected during the pandemic. This prospective observational study was conducted over seven one-month periods. Herein, the latest four time periods (November 2021, January 2022, March 2022, and May 2022) are depicted. Each patient of a tertiary-care center in Germany was anonymized after collection of clinical diagnosis (ICD-10) and then routinely tested for the respective spike and nucleocapsid SARS-CoV-2 antibody titer. A total of 3235 blood samples from four time periods were included. Spike seroprevalence rose from 37.6% to 51.9% to 70.5% to 85.1% and nucleocapsid seroprevalence from 11.6% to 17.0% to 36.7% to 58.1% in May 2022. In detail, significant changes in seroprevalence between age groups but not between sex or diagnosis groups were found. Quantitative measures revealed rising spike and constant nucleocapsid antibody levels over the pandemic with a half-life of 102 days for spike and 45 days for nucleocapsid antibodies. Routine laboratory assessment of SARS-CoV-2 in residual blood specimens of pediatric hospitals enables monitoring of the seroprevalence and may allow inferences about general immunity in this cohort.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Routine Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Serostatus in Pediatrics Allows Monitoring of Humoral Response

Wachter,

Knieling,

Raming

et al. 2023

Microorganisms

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“…There are two other studies reporting nationwide estimates of vaccination-and infection-induced seroprevalence in Germany, the SeBluCo study 11 in adult blood donors and the GUIDE 9 study in the general adult population. While our study focuses on the Delta-to-Omicron transition period, SeBluCo depicts different time points since the start of the pandemic in 2020, including the beginning of the Delta-dominated fourth pandemic wave and part of the Omicron-driven fifth wave 15 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More studies have been published in Germany on SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence. However, apart from the GUIDE study 9 , which limits its analysis to the adult population (18+ years), such studies focused on a regional or local level 10 or were limited to specific subpopulations or settings such as blood donors 11,12 , health or educational institutions 13,14 . The second Corona Monitoring Nationwide (RKI-SOEP-2) Study, presented here, was conducted from November 2021 to February 2022 during the fourth pandemic wave in Germany that was dominated by the Delta variant, followed by the Omicron wave beginning around the turn of the year 2021-22 15 (Figure 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nationwide population-based infection- and vaccine-induced SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Germany at the end of 2021

Mercuri,

Schmid,

Poethko-Müller

et al. 2023

Preprint

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SummaryBackgroundThe first wave of the Corona Monitoring Nationwide (RKI-SOEP) Study drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel proved a low pre-vaccine SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in the German adult population of 2.1%.MethodsIn this second wave of the study (RKI-SOEP-2, November 2021-March 2022), we used combined serological and self-reported data on infection and vaccination to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific anti-spike and/or anti-nucleocapsid IgG antibodies (combined seroprevalence), past infection, and basic immunization in individuals aged 14+.FindingsCombined seroprevalence was 90.7% (95% CI 89.7% - 91.6%) without correction for antibody waning and 94.6% (95% CI 93.6% - 95.7%) with correction. While 1 in 10 individuals had been infected (9.9%, 95% CI 9.0% - 10.9%), 9 in 10 had at least a basic immunization (90%, 95% CI 88.9%-90.9%). Population-weighted estimates differed by age, region, and socioeconomic deprivation. Infection-induced seroprevalence with correction for antibody waning was 1.55 (95% CI 1.3 - 1.8) times higher than the cumulative proportion based on national surveillance data.InterpretationAt the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2-Omicron wave, the vast majority of the population had been vaccinated, infected, or both. Our results show how large-scale vaccination, but not a high infection rate, was able to fill the immunity gap, especially in older individuals (aged 65+) who are known to be at higher risk of severe COVID-19. Our data point towards a targeted demographically and regionally stratified mitigation strategy, to optimize future pandemic mitigation efforts.

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“…In particular, the vaccination rate amongst the ≥60-year-old age group can be considered highly vaccinated, with 85.4% receiving at least one booster vaccination. 47 In addition, based on seroprevalence studies like SeBluCo, 48 it can be assumed that, by mid-2022, almost every German would have built up sufficient vaccine immunity and/or would have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, thus enhancing hybrid immunity. This was confirmed by a recent study that analysed blood samples from 15,932 adult German participants for the presence of antibodies against the S-antigen and N-antigen of the SARS-CoV-2 virus: 95.7% and 44.4% had antibodies against the S-antigen and N-antigen, respectively.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individuals at risk for severe COVID-19 in whom ritonavir-containing therapies are contraindicated or may lead to interactions with concomitant medications: a retrospective analysis of German health insurance claims data

Lübbert,

Dykukha,

Pelz

et al. 2023

DIC

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Background Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir is authorized for the treatment of COVID-19 but has several contraindications and potential drug–drug interactions (pDDIs) due to ritonavir-induced irreversible inhibition of cytochrome P450 3A4. We aimed to assess the prevalence of individuals with one or more risk factors for severe COVID-19 along with contraindications and pDDIs due to ritonavir-containing COVID-19 therapy. Methods Retrospective observational study of individuals with one or more risk factors according to Robert Koch Institute criteria for severe COVID-19 according to German statutory health insurance (SHI) claims data from the pre-pandemic years 2018–2019 based on the German Analysis Database for Evaluation and Health Services Research. Prevalence was extrapolated to the entire SHI population using age-adjusted and sex-adjusted multiplication factors. Results Nearly 2.5 million fully insured adults, representing 61 million people in the German SHI population, were included in the analysis. In 2019, prevalence of individuals that would have been at risk of severe COVID-19 was 56.4%. Amongst them, the prevalence of contraindications for treatment with ritonavir-containing COVID-19 therapy was approximately 2% according to presence of somatic comorbidities (severe liver or kidney disease). Prevalence of intake of medicines contraindicated for their potential interactions with ritonavir-containing COVID-19 therapy was 16.5% according to Summary of Product Characteristics and 31.8% according to previously published data. The prevalence of individuals at risk of pDDIs during ritonavir-containing COVID-19 therapy without adjustment of their concomitant therapy was 56.0% and 44.3%, respectively. Prevalence data for 2018 were similar. Conclusion Administering ritonavir-containing COVID-19 therapy can be challenging as thorough medical record review and close monitoring are required. In some cases, ritonavir-containing treatment may not be appropriate due to contraindications, risk of pDDIs, or both. For those individuals, an alternative ritonavir-free treatment should be considered.

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Monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Prevalence of Antibodies in a Large, Repetitive Cross-Sectional Study of Blood Donors in Germany—Results from the SeBluCo Study 2020–2022

Cited by 7 publications

References 30 publications

Routine Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Serostatus in Pediatrics Allows Monitoring of Humoral Response

Routine Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Serostatus in Pediatrics Allows Monitoring of Humoral Response

Nationwide population-based infection- and vaccine-induced SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Germany at the end of 2021

Individuals at risk for severe COVID-19 in whom ritonavir-containing therapies are contraindicated or may lead to interactions with concomitant medications: a retrospective analysis of German health insurance claims data

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