Background: Quantifying antibody reactivity against multiple SARS-CoV-2 antigens at the population level may help understand individual differences in COVID-19 severity. Pre-existing low antibody cross-reactivity may be particularly prevalent among childcare providers, including pediatric health care workers (HCW) who may be more exposed to circulating coronaviruses. Methods: Cross-sectional study that included adults in the Vancouver area in British Columbia (BC), Canada, between May 17 and June 19, 2020. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was ascertained by measuring total SARS-CoV-2 IgG/M/A antibodies against a recombinant spike (S1) protein, and adjusted for bias due to false-positive and false-negative test results. A novel, high sensitivity multiplex assay was also used to profile IgGs against four SARS-CoV-2 antigens, SARS-CoV and four circulating coronaviruses. Findings: Among 276 participants (71% HCW), three showed evidence of direct viral exposure, yielding an adjusted seroprevalence of 0.60% [95%CI 0% - 2.71%], with no difference between HCW and non-HCW, or between paediatric and adult HCW. Among the remaining 273 unexposed individuals, 7.3% [95%CI 4.5% - 11.1%], 48.7 [95%CI 42.7% - 54.8%] and 82.4% [95%CI 77.4% - 86.7%] showed antibody reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 RBD, N or Spike proteins, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 reactivity did not correlate with age, sex, did not differ between HCW and non-HCW (prevalence: 1.0% vs 1.0%; P=1.00) and between pediatric and adult HCW (prevalence: 0.7% vs 1.6%; P=0.54), and weakly correlated with reactivity to circulating coronaviruses (Spearman rho range: 0.130 to 0.224 for 7 significant out of 16 correlations; false-discovery rate-adjusted for a total of 36 correlations). Interpretation: A substantial proportion of individuals showed low, but detectable antibody reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 antigens in this population despite a low evidence of direct SARS-CoV-2 exposure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.