Lack of Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 among Blood Donors during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Study from Saudi Arabia

Alandijany, Thamir A.; El‐Kafrawy, Sherif A.; Alghamdi, Abrar; Qashqari, Fadi S.; Faizo, Arwa A.; Tolah, Ahmed M.; Hassan, Ahmed M.; Sohrab, Sayed Sartaj; Hindawi, Salwa; Badawi, Maha; Azhar, Esam I.

doi:10.3390/healthcare9010051

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Non-COVID patients had a trend of higher seroprevalence than blood donors. This is likely due to their co-morbid conditions as previous studies suggested that comorbidities are risk factors for COVID-19, partially as a result of increased expression of ACE-2, the SARS-CoV-2 host-cell receptor [ 18 , 19 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nationwide Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Saudi Arabia

Alharbi¹,

Alghnam²,

Algaissi³

et al. 2021

Journal of Infection and Public Health

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Background Estimated seroprevalence of Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a critical evidence for a better evaluation of the virus spread and monitoring the progress of COVID-19 pandemic in a population. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence has been reported in specific regions, but an extensive nationwide study has not been reported. Here, we report a nationwide study to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the population of KSA during the pandemic, using serum samples from healthy blood donors, non-COVID patients and healthcare workers (HCWs) in six different regions of the kingdom, with addition samples from COVID-19 patients. Methods A total of 11,703 serum samples were collected from different regions of the KSA including; 5395 samples from residual healthy blood donors (D); 5877 samples from non-COVID patients collected through residual sera at clinical biochemistry labs from non-COVID patients (P); and 400 samples from consented HCWs. To determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2, all serum samples, in addition to positive control sera from RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 patients, were subjected to in-house ELISA with a sample pooling strategy, which was further validated by testing individual samples that make up some of the pools, with a statistical estimation method to report seroprevalence estimates. Results Overall (combining D and P groups) seroprevalence estimate was around 11% in Saudi Arabia; and was 5.1% (Riyadh), 1.5% (Jazan), 18.4% (Qassim), 20.8% (Hail), 14.7% (ER; Alahsa), and 18.8% in Makkah. Makkah samples were only D group and had a rate of 24.4% and 12.8% in the cities of Makkah and Jeddah, respectively. The seroprevalence in Saudi Arabia across the sampled areas would be 12 times the reported COVID-19 infection rate. Among HCWs, 7.5% (4.95–10.16 CI 95%) had reactive antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 without reporting any previously confirmed infection. This was higher in HCWs with hypertension. The study also presents the demographics and prevalence of co-morbidities in HCWs and subset of non-COVID-19 population. Interpretation Our study estimates the overall national serological prevalence of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia to be 11%, with an apparent disparity between regions. This indicates the prevalence of asymptomatic or mild unreported COVID-19 cases.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nationwide Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Saudi Arabia

Alharbi¹,

Alghnam²,

Algaissi³

et al. 2021

Journal of Infection and Public Health

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“…There was significant heterogeneity by methodological factors that influence seroprevalence estimates (Table 1, summarized by Figure 5). Characterization of the blood donor populations varied; five studies did not report the age of donors sampled [16,23,38,39,41]. The scope of studies varied, the majority (76%; 25/33) provided regional estimates within countries.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current challenges of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seroprevalence studies among blood donors: A scoping review

Saeed

Uzicanin

Lewin

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Blood donors are increasingly being recognized as an informative resource for surveillance. We aimed to review and characterize SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence studies conducted using blood donors to investigate methodology and provide guidance for future research. Methods: We conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed and preprint publications between January 2020 to January 2021. Two reviewers used standardized forms to extract seroprevalence estimates and data on methodology pertaining to population sampling, periodicity, assay characteristics and antibody kinetics. National data on cumulative incidence and social distancing policies were extracted from publicly available sources and summarized. Results: Thirty-three studies representing 1,323,307 blood donations from 20 countries worldwide were included (sample size per study ranged from 22 to 953,926 donations). Seroprevalence rates ranged from 0% to 76% (after adjusting for waning antibodies). Overall, less than 1 in 5 studies reported standardized seroprevalence rates to reflect the demographics of the general population. Stratification by age and sex were most common (64% of studies), followed by region (48%). 52% of studies reported seroprevalence at a single time point. Overall, 27 unique assay combinations were identified, 55% of studies used a single assay and only 39% adjusted seroprevalence rates for imperfect test characteristics. Among the eight nationally representative studies case detection was most underrepresented in Kenya (1:1264). Conclusion: As of December 11, 2020, 79% of studies reported seroprevalence rates <10%; thresholds far from reaching herd immunity. In addition to differences in community transmission and diverse public health policies, study designs and methodology were likely contributing factors to seroprevalence heterogeneity.

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“…We previously developed and optimized an S-based ELISA that enables sensitive and specific detection of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody in human sera [ 18 ]. This protocol was subsequently applied in a number of seroprevalence studies [ 19 , 20 ]. Currently, the number of people who are receiving COVID-19 vaccination is escalating.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Reliable Indirect ELISA Protocol for Detection of Human Antibodies Directed to SARS-CoV-2 NP Protein

et al. 2021

Self Cite

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A few months ago, the availability of a reliable and cost-effective testing capacity for COVID-19 was a concern for many countries. With the emergence and circulation of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, another layer of challenge can be added for COVID-19 testing at both molecular and serological levels. This is particularly important for the available tests principally designed to target the S gene/protein where multiple mutations have been reported. Herein, the SARS-CoV-2 NP recombinant protein was utilized to develop a simple and reliable COVID-19 NP human IgG ELISA. The optimized protocol was validated against a micro-neutralization (MN) assay, in-house S-based ELISA, and commercial chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA). The developed assay provides 100% sensitivity, 98.9% specificity, 98.9% agreement, and high overall accuracy with an area under curve equal to 0.9998 ± 0.0002 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.99 to 1.00. The optical density values of positive samples significantly correlated with their corresponding MN titers. The assay specifically detects IgG antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 NP protein and does not cross-detect IgG to the viral S protein. Moreover, it does not cross-react with antibodies related to other coronaviruses (e.g., the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus or human coronavirus HKU1). The availability of this reliable COVID-19 NP IgG ELISA protocol is highly valuable for its diagnostic and epidemiological applications.

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Lack of Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 among Blood Donors during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Study from Saudi Arabia

Cited by 14 publications

References 24 publications

Nationwide Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Saudi Arabia

Nationwide Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Saudi Arabia

Current challenges of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seroprevalence studies among blood donors: A scoping review

A Reliable Indirect ELISA Protocol for Detection of Human Antibodies Directed to SARS-CoV-2 NP Protein

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