Seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Slovenia

Autor: Poljak, Mario, Oštrbenk Valenčak, Anja, Štrumbelj, Erik, Maver Vodičar, Polona, Vehovar, Vasja, Resman Rus, Katarina, Korva, Miša, Knap, Nataša, Seme, Katja, Petrovec, Miroslav, Zupan, Blaž, Demšar, Janez, Kurdija, Slavko, Avšič-Županc, Tatjana
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Clinical microbiology and infection, vol. 27, no. 7, pp. 1039e1-1039e7, 2021.
ISSN: 1198-743X
Popis: Objectives: Seroprevalence surveys provide crucial information on cumulative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure. This Slovenian nationwide population study is the first longitudinal 6-month serosurvey using probability-based samples across all age categories. Methods: Each participant supplied two blood samples: 1316 samples in April 2020 (first round) and 1211 in October/November 2020 (second round). The first-round sera were tested using Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA IgG (ELISA) and, because of uncertain estimates, were retested using Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 (Elecsys-N) and Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (Elecsys-S). The second-round sera were concomitantly tested using Elecsys-N/Elecsys-S. Results: The populations of both rounds matched the overall population (n = 3000), with minor settlement type and age differences. The first-round seroprevalence corrected for the ELISA manufacturer's specificity was 2.78% (95% highest density interval [HDI] 1.81%–3.80%), corrected using pooled ELISA specificity calculated from published data 0.93% (95% CI 0.00%–2.65%), and based on Elecsys-N/Elecsys-S results 0.87% (95% HDI 0.40%–1.38%). The second-round unadjusted lower limit of seroprevalence on 11 November 2020 was 4.06% (95% HDI 2.97%–5.16%) and on 3 October 2020, unadjusted upper limit was 4.29% (95% HDI 3.18%–5.47%). Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Slovenia increased four-fold from late April to October/ November 2020, mainly due to a devastating second wave. Significant logistic/methodological challenges accompanied both rounds. The main lessons learned were a need for caution when relying on manufacturer-generated assay evaluation data, the importance of multiple manufacturer-independent assay performance assessments, the need for concomitant use of highly-specific serological assays targeting different SARS-CoV-2 proteins in serosurveys conducted in low-prevalence settings or during epidemic exponential growth and the usefulness of a Bayesian approach for overcoming complex methodological challenges.
Databáze: OpenAIRE