SARS-CoV-2 population-based seroprevalence studies in Europe: a scoping review

Abstract

ObjectivesWe aimed to review SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence studies conducted in Europe to understand how they may be used to inform ongoing control strategies for COVID-19.DesignScoping review of peer-reviewed publications and manuscripts on preprint servers from January 2020 to 15 September 2020.Primary measureSeroprevalence estimate (and lower and upper CIs). For studies conducted across a country or territory, we used the seroprevalence estimate and the upper and lower CIs and compared them to the total number of reported infections to calculate the ratio of reported to expected infections.ResultsWe identified 23 population-based seroprevalence studies conducted in Europe. Among 12 general population studies, seroprevalence ranged from 0.42% among residual clinical samples in Greece to 13.6% in an area of high transmission in Gangelt, Germany. Of the eight studies in blood donors, seroprevalence ranged from 0.91% in North-Western Germany to 23.3% in a high-transmission area in Lombardy region, Italy. In three studies which recruited individuals through employment, seroprevalence ranged from 0.5% among factory workers in Frankfurt, Germany, to 10.2% among university employees in Milan, Italy. In comparison to nationally reported cases, the extent of infection, as derived from these seroprevalence estimates, is manyfold higher and largely heterogeneous.ConclusionExposure to the virus in Europe has not reached a level of infection that would prevent further circulation of the virus. Effective vaccine candidates are urgently required to deliver the level of immunity in the population.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among Vancouver public school staff in British Columbia, Canada

“…Second, the seroprevalence of school staff was compared to matched blood donors which may underestimate the community prevalence as the blood donors serology were taken in January 2021, prior to sampling of the school cohort, which could only reinforce our conclusions. As others have found, serologic testing in blood donors in general does reflect overall seroprevalence in the community 39-42 and we would expect the seroprevalence in the reference group of blood donors for the same period to be higher, which reinforces our study conclusion. Consistent with this, seroprevalence estimates based on anonymized, residual specimens collected by the BC Centre for Disease Control in January 2021 from working age adults (attending one of ∼80 diagnostic service centres in the only outpatient laboratory network in the greater Vancouver area) ranged from 3-4% (DM Skowronski, personal communication).…”

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seroprevalence: Navigating the absence of a gold standard

“…This study was conducted among blood donors, based on selection criteria to be allowed to donate blood donors may be healthier than the general population [ 34 ]. However, a recent study compared seroprevalence estimates from European blood donors to household surveys targeting the general population and found seroprevalence rates to be very similar [ 35 ]. In this analysis we assumed the assays were conditionally independent, meaning there were no jointly false-positive or false-negative results between the assays.…”

SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence Structure of the Russian Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Sero-monitoring is the most convenient tool for enabling objective assessment of the direction and dynamics of the epidemic process, more effective and timely decisions aimed at controlling the infectious process, and the formation of population immunity [ 6 , 45 ]. Currently, a large number of works, of varying quality, have been published on the problem of population immunity to SARS-CoV-2, as summarized in a number of overview articles and meta-reviews [ 9 , 47 , 60 ]. Published works on population seroprevalence in a number of countries or regions have been provided: China [ 61 ]; Israel [ 10 ]; the Near and Middle East [ 9 , 62 , 63 ]; most countries of Europe [ 60 ]; North and Latin America [ 64 , 65 ]; Australia [ 66 ]; and Russia [ 17 , 22 ].…”

“…Currently, a large number of works, of varying quality, have been published on the problem of population immunity to SARS-CoV-2, as summarized in a number of overview articles and meta-reviews [ 9 , 47 , 60 ]. Published works on population seroprevalence in a number of countries or regions have been provided: China [ 61 ]; Israel [ 10 ]; the Near and Middle East [ 9 , 62 , 63 ]; most countries of Europe [ 60 ]; North and Latin America [ 64 , 65 ]; Australia [ 66 ]; and Russia [ 17 , 22 ].…”