SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Germany

Gornyk, Daniela; Harries, Manuela; Glöckner, Stephan; Strengert, Monika; Kerrinnes, Tobias; Heise, Jana-Kristin; Maaß, Henrike; Ortmann, Julia; Kessel, Barbora; Kemmling, Yvonne; Lange, Berit; Krause, Gérard

doi:10.3238/arztebl.m2021.0364

Cited by 34 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In its first round (July to August 2020), the study estimated that there were 1.8 times as many infections as reported by health authorities 23 . While first local seroepidemiological studies in Germany, which were mainly conducted in hotspot areas, indicated underascertainment ratios of four to five 2,7,24-26 , starting with the second half of 2020 underascertainment ratios were lower, in the majority of studies underascertainment was around two 22,23,27-31 . The Robert Koch Institute as the national Public Health Institute systematically tracks seroepidemiological studies in the general population as well as in special population groups conducted in Germany (www.rki.de/covid-19-serostudies-germany).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Germany’s low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence confirms effective containment in 2020: Results of the nationwide RKI-SOEP study

Neuhauser

Rosario

Butschalowsky

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pre-vaccine SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence data from Germany are scarce outside hotspots, and socioeconomic disparities remained largely unexplored. The nationwide RKI-SOEP study with 15,122 adult participants investigated seroprevalence and testing in a supplementary wave of the Socio-Economic-Panel conducted predominantly in October-November 2020. Self-collected oral-nasal swabs were PCR-positive in 0.4% and Euroimmun anti-SARS-CoV-2-S1-IgG ELISA from dry capillary blood in 1.3% (95% CI 0.9-1.7%, population-weighted, corrected for sensitivity=0.811, specificity=0.997). Seroprevalence was 1.7% (95% CI 1.2-2.3%) when additionally adjusting for antibody decay. Overall infection prevalence including self-reports was 2.1%. We estimate 45% (95% CI 21-60%) undetected cases and analyses suggest lower detection in socioeconomically deprived districts. Prior SARS-CoV-2 testing was reported by 18% from the lower educational group compared to 25% and 26% from the medium and high educational group (p<0.0001). Symptom-triggered test frequency was similar across educational groups. However, routine testing was more common in low-educated adults, whereas travel-related testing and testing after contact with an infected person was more common in highly educated groups. In conclusion, pre-vaccine SARS-CoV-2-seroprevalence in Germany was very low. Notified cases appear to capture more than half of infections but may underestimate infections in lower socioeconomic groups. These data confirm the successful containment strategy of Germany until winter 2020.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Germany’s low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence confirms effective containment in 2020: Results of the nationwide RKI-SOEP study

Neuhauser

Rosario

Butschalowsky

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Serum samples used in this study were originally collected for use in several other studies [ 18–21 ]. The sample set was designed to include a broad representation of samples from infected individuals (hereafter referred to as “convalescent”) from the different waves of SARS-CoV-2 within Germany, as well as vaccinated samples.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antibody Binding and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Binding Inhibition Is Significantly Reduced for Both the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron Variants

Junker

Becker

Wagner

et al. 2022

Clinical Infectious Diseases

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The rapid emergence of the omicron variant and its large number of mutations led to its classification as a variant of concern (VOC) by the WHO. Subsequently, omicron evolved into distinct sublineages (e.g. BA1 and BA2), which currently represent the majority of global infections. Initial studies of the neutralizing response towards BA1 in convalescent and vaccinated individuals showed a substantial reduction. Methods We assessed antibody (IgG) binding, ACE2 (Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2) binding inhibition, and IgG binding dynamics for the omicron BA1 and BA2 variants compared to a panel of VOC/VOIs, in a large cohort (n = 352) of convalescent, vaccinated, and infected and subsequently vaccinated individuals. Results While omicron was capable efficiently binding to ACE2, antibodies elicited by infection or immunization showed reduced binding capacities and ACE2 binding inhibition compared to WT. Whereas BA1 exhibited less IgG binding compared to BA2, BA2 showed reduced inhibition of ACE2 binding. Among vaccinated samples, antibody binding to omicron only improved after administration of a third dose. Conclusion omicron BA1 and BA2 can still efficiently bind to ACE2, while vaccine/infection-derived antibodies can bind omicron. The extent of the mutations within both variants prevent a strong inhibitory binding response. As a result, both omicron variants are able to evade control by pre-existing antibodies.

show abstract

“…Vaccination responses were analyzed in participants of the multi-local and serial cross-sectional prevalence study on antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Germany (MuSPAD) study, a nationwide population-based SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study ( 27 ) from July 2020 to August 2021. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Hannover Medical School (9086_BO_S_2020).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While multiple studies have so far investigated vaccine-induced responses, predominantly in at-risk groups such as dialysis or transplant recipients (21,22), groups with increased exposure risk such as health care workers (23)(24)(25) or as part of the initial clinical efficacy trials which in general enroll healthier than average populations (26), we report immunological vaccination response data from the general adult population. By using samples from a population-based seroprevalence study (MuSPAD), which assessed SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence from July 2020 to August 2021 in eight regions in Germany (27), we examined the dynamics of vaccine-induced humoral responses using MULTICOV-AB (28) and an ACE2-RBD competition assay (29) to analyze ACE2 binding inhibition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Magnitude and Persistence of Humoral SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Responses in the Adult Population in Germany

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent increases in SARS-CoV-2 infections have led to questions about duration and quality of vaccine-induced immune protection. While numerous studies have been published on immune responses triggered by vaccination, these often focus on studying the impact of one or two immunisation schemes within subpopulations such as immunocompromised individuals or healthcare workers. To provide information on the duration and quality of vaccine-induced immune responses against SARS-CoV-2, we analyzed antibody titres against various SARS-CoV-2 antigens and ACE2 binding inhibition against SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and variants of concern in samples from a large German population-based seroprevalence study (MuSPAD) who had received all currently available immunisation schemes. We found that homologous mRNA-based or heterologous prime-boost vaccination produced significantly higher antibody responses than vector-based homologous vaccination. Ad26.CoV2S.2 performance was particularly concerning with reduced titres and 91.7% of samples classified as non-responsive for ACE2 binding inhibition, suggesting that recipients require a booster mRNA vaccination. While mRNA vaccination induced a higher ratio of RBD- and S1-targeting antibodies, vector-based vaccines resulted in an increased proportion of S2-targeting antibodies. Given the role of RBD- and S1-specific antibodies in neutralizing SARS-CoV-2, their relative over-representation after mRNA vaccination may explain why these vaccines have increased efficacy compared to vector-based formulations. Previously infected individuals had a robust immune response once vaccinated, regardless of which vaccine they received, which could aid future dose allocation should shortages arise for certain manufacturers. Overall, both titres and ACE2 binding inhibition peaked approximately 28 days post-second vaccination and then decreased.

show abstract

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Germany

Cited by 34 publications

References 26 publications

Germany’s low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence confirms effective containment in 2020: Results of the nationwide RKI-SOEP study

Germany’s low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence confirms effective containment in 2020: Results of the nationwide RKI-SOEP study

Antibody Binding and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Binding Inhibition Is Significantly Reduced for Both the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron Variants

Comparative Magnitude and Persistence of Humoral SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Responses in the Adult Population in Germany

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About