Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Mar 2021
Meta AnalysisSARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
COVID-19 has been arguably the most important public health concern worldwide in 2020, and efforts are now escalating to suppress or eliminate its spread. In this study we undertook a meta-analysis to estimate the global and regional seroprevalence rates in humans of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and to assess whether seroprevalence is associated with geographical, climatic and/or sociodemographic factors. ⋯ This study showed that SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence varied markedly among geographic regions, as might be expected early in a pandemic. Longitudinal surveys to continually monitor seroprevalence around the globe will be critical to support prevention and control efforts, and might indicate levels of endemic stability or instability in particular countries and regions.
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Mar 2021
Antibody response using six different serological assays in a completely PCR-tested community after a coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak-the CoNAN study.
Due to a substantial proportion of asymptomatic and mild courses, many severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections remain unreported. Therefore, assessment of seroprevalence may detect the real burden of disease. We aimed to determine and characterize the rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections and the resulting seroprevalence in a defined population. The primary objective of the study was to assess SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence using six different IgG-detecting immunoassays. Secondary objectives of the study were: (a) to determine potential risk factors for symptomatic versus asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 courses, and (b) to investigate the rate of virus RNA-persistence. ⋯ Our data question the relevance and reliability of IgG antibody testing to detect past SARS-CoV-2 infections 6 weeks after an outbreak. We conclude that assessing immunity for SARS-CoV-2 infection should not rely on antibody tests alone.
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Mar 2021
Field evaluation of a rapid antigen test (Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device) for COVID-19 diagnosis in primary healthcare centres.
To our knowledge no previous study has assessed the performance of a rapid antigen diagnostic immunoassay (RAD) conducted at the point of care (POC). We evaluated the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device for diagnosis of coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) in symptomatic patients (n = 412) attending primary healthcare centres. ⋯ The Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device performed well as a POC test for early diagnosis of COVID-19 in primary healthcare centres. More crucially, the data suggested that patients with RT-PCR-proven COVID-19 testing negative by RAD are unlikely to be infectious.
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Mar 2021
Observational StudyPrevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in a large prospective cohort study of elite football players in Germany (May-June 2020): implications for a testing protocol in asymptomatic individuals and estimation of the rate of undetected cases.
Elite professional football players and staff are a unique group that might give insight into the epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in Germany and thus can serve as a model for geographical distribution and an estimation of undetected infections. ⋯ Seroprevalence with a high-quality diagnostic in Germany seemed to be around 2%. The number of undetected infections seems to be eight to ten times higher than in notification data. The quality of antibody assays is rather variable, thus results should ideally be confirmed at least by a second assay to prove IgG positivity.