Specificity of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Detection Assays against S and N Proteins among Pre-COVID-19 Sera from Patients with Protozoan and Helminth Parasitic Infections

Yansouni, Cédric P.; Papenburg, Jesse; Cheng, Matthew P.; Corsini, Rachel; Caya, Chelsea; Camargo, Fabio Vasquez; Harrison, Luke B.; Zaharatos, Gerasimos J.; Büscher, Philippe; Faye, Babacar; Ndiaye, Magatte; Matlashewski, Greg; Ndao, Momar

doi:10.1128/jcm.01717-21

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…In a group of sera taken before the COVID-19 pandemic from patients seropositive for parasitic infections (leishmaniasis, malaria, Chagas disease), the presence of cross-reactive antibodies has been observed in assays for the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that in regions with the coexistence of these pathogens, false positive cases could occur due to cross-reactivity in a wide variety of serological tests [21]. The cross-reactivity of antibodies we observed is drastically reduced with the use of synthetic peptides in the ELISA assay and is not evident when these antibodies are tested by Western Blot assay, suggesting that cross-reacting antibodies mainly recognise conformational and non-sequential epitopes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pfizer‐BioNTech vaccine induces the production of cross‐reactive antibodies against Trypanosoma cruzi proteins: A preliminary study

López‐Monteon

Balderas-Caballero

Domínguez-Guillén

et al. 2023

Tropical Med Int Health

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Objective To evaluate the presence of cross‐reactivity by anti‐severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 antibodies induced by the Pfizer‐BioNTech vaccine against Trypanosoma cruzi proteins in a screening test. Methods Forty‐three serum samples were obtained from personnel at the Hospital General Naval de Alta Especialidad in Mexico City who received one or two doses of the vaccine and were tested for T. cruzi infection using four tests: two ‘in house’ enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), a commercial ELISA diagnostic kit and an immunoblot test. Results IgG antibodies against the T. cruzi proteins were present in the serum of unvaccinated subjects and subjects who had received one or two doses of the vaccine. The positivity of the samples against T. cruzi was ruled out by means of a Western Blot assay, where all samples were negative for T. cruzi. Conclusion The data suggest that people convalescing from coronavirus disease 2019 and those who received the Pfizer‐BioNTech vaccine exhibit cross‐reactive antibodies against T. cruzi antigens in ELISA assays.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pfizer‐BioNTech vaccine induces the production of cross‐reactive antibodies against Trypanosoma cruzi proteins: A preliminary study

López‐Monteon

Balderas-Caballero

Domínguez-Guillén

et al. 2023

Tropical Med Int Health

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“…Typically, the detected antibodies test negative in neutralization assays. 13,14 However, they may be a marker of a much broader immune response that includes both humoral and cellular features. Pre-existing T-cell immunity and its potential role in ameliorating clinical course in SARS-CoV-2 infection is another hotly debated issue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We did not consider neutralizing antibody assays, as it has been clearly shown that detected antibodies in pre-pandemic African samples typically do not have neutralizing capacity. 13,14…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-pandemic cross-reactive humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis

Ioannidis

Contopoulos‐Ioannidis

2022

Preprint

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Background: Low numbers of recorded COVID-19 deaths in Africa may be due to undercounting and/or protection due to demographic and/or other factors, including pre-existing immunity. Several studies have assessed pre-pandemic samples for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with heterogeneous results. Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating pre-pandemic African samples for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody activity using pre-set assay-specific thresholds for seropositivity. Data where assay thresholds were calibrated on African populations were excluded. Searches used PubMed (September 13, 2022), reference lists of retrieved papers and citing articles (Google Scholar). Data were extracted independently by two authors on study and assay characteristics, and number of positive and tested samples. Datasets were classified according to malaria, dengue, and HIV burden. Proportions of seropositivity were combined with random effects meta-analysis. Results: 22 articles with 117 datasets were eligible, including 2,971 positives among 21,988 measurements (13.5%) with large between-dataset heterogeneity. Positivity was higher for anti-S1 (25%) and lower for anti-RBD antibodies (8%). Positivity was non-significantly higher for IgM than for IgG antibodies. Positivity was seen prominently in countries where malaria transmission occurs throughout and in datasets enriched in malaria cases (17%, 95% CI, 15-19%) versus 1%, 95% CI 0-2% in other datasets). There were modest differences according to dengue burden (15% versus 11%). Substantial SARS-CoV-2 reactivity was seen in high malaria burden with or without high dengue burden (seropositivity 19% and 12%, respectively), and not without high malaria burden (seropositivity 2% and 0% with and without high dengue burden, respectively). There were modestly lower proportions of positivity in datasets with >10% of HIV-infected participants (8% versus 15% in others), but no association according to HIV serostatus in individual samples (summary odds ratio 0.97, 95% CI, 0.55-1.70). Interpretation: Pre-pandemic samples from Africa show high levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity that tracks especially with malaria.

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“…It has also been suggested that cross-reactivity with parasitic infections could lower the specificity of COVID-19 serology testing. A study investigated the impact of helminth infections on the specificity of three different SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection assays, which were tested on 559 serum samples collected before July 2019 and known to be seropositive for several parasitic infections [ 114 ]. Although the authors found that the specificity of the 50 sera samples with Strongyloides seropositivity was preserved, there was a lower specificity found in the specimens seropositive for visceral leishmaniasis and African trypanosomiasis.…”

Section: Impact Of Strongyloides On Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Strongyloides and COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities for Future Research

et al. 2023

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Strongyloides stercoralis is a soil transmitted helminth endemic to tropical and subtropical areas that can persist for decades in immunocompetent human hosts as a chronic asymptomatic infection. The use of corticosteroids, a mainstay of treatment for patients hospitalized with severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19), can trigger a life-threatening Strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome and disseminated disease. We identified 22 previously published cases of strongyloidiasis occurring in individuals with COVID-19, with one death reported among the seven patients who had Strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome. A total of seventeen patients had previously received corticosteroids, and of the five with no prior corticosteroid use, one presented with hyperinfection syndrome. We identify the key challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of Strongyloides within the context of COVID-19, including our imprecise knowledge of the global distribution of Strongyloides, the overlapping symptoms and signs of COVID-19 and Strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome, the limited utility of eosinophilia as a clinical marker for strongyloidiasis in this setting, the lack of validated algorithms to screen for Strongyloides prior to corticosteroid use, and the paucity of treatment options for critically ill patients with COVID-19 who cannot take oral ivermectin. Future research should focus on improved diagnostic methods and population prevalence estimates, optimizing the approaches for Strongyloides screening in persons with COVID-19 (including clinical trial participants and strategies for resource-limited settings) and better defining the role of pre-emptive treatment.

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Specificity of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Detection Assays against S and N Proteins among Pre-COVID-19 Sera from Patients with Protozoan and Helminth Parasitic Infections

Cited by 9 publications

References 18 publications

Pfizer‐BioNTech vaccine induces the production of cross‐reactive antibodies against Trypanosoma cruzi proteins: A preliminary study

Pfizer‐BioNTech vaccine induces the production of cross‐reactive antibodies against Trypanosoma cruzi proteins: A preliminary study

Pre-pandemic cross-reactive humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis

Strongyloides and COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities for Future Research

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