tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Healthcare (Basel)
. 2021 Apr 22;9(5):498.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare9050498.
Prevalence and Course of IgA and IgG Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Healthcare Workers during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Germany: Interim Results from an Ongoing Observational Cohort Study
Mark Reinwald[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Peter Markus Deckert[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Oliver Ritter[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Henrike Andresen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Andreas G Schreyer[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Karsten Henrich Weylandt[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Werner Dammermann[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP], Stefan L?th[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
(1) Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are prone to intensified exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the ongoing pandemic. We prospectively analyzed the prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in HCWs at baseline and follow up with regard to clinical signs and symptoms in two university hospitals in Brandenburg, Germany. (2) Methods: Screening for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG antibodies was offered to HCWs at baseline and follow up two months thereafter in two hospitals of Brandenburg Medical School during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany in an ongoing observational cohort study. Medical history and signs and symptoms were recorded by questionnaires and analyzed. (3) Results: Baseline seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA was 11.7% and increased to 15% at follow up, whereas IgG seropositivity was 2.1% at baseline and 2.2% at follow up. The rate of asymptomatic seropositive cases was 39.5%. Symptoms were not associated with general seropositivity for anti-SARS-CoV-2; however, class switch from IgA to IgG was associated with increased symptom burden. (4) Conclusions: The seroprevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was low in HCWs but higher compared to population data and increased over time. Screening for antibodies detected a significant proportion of seropositive participants cases without symptoms.
Keywords: COVID-19; Germany; IgG response; SARS-CoV-2; anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA; first wave; healthcare workers; seroprevalence; symptoms.
. 2021 Apr 22;9(5):498.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare9050498.
Prevalence and Course of IgA and IgG Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Healthcare Workers during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Germany: Interim Results from an Ongoing Observational Cohort Study
Mark Reinwald[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Peter Markus Deckert[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Oliver Ritter[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Henrike Andresen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Andreas G Schreyer[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Karsten Henrich Weylandt[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Werner Dammermann[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP], Stefan L?th[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33922198
- DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9050498
Abstract
(1) Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are prone to intensified exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the ongoing pandemic. We prospectively analyzed the prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in HCWs at baseline and follow up with regard to clinical signs and symptoms in two university hospitals in Brandenburg, Germany. (2) Methods: Screening for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG antibodies was offered to HCWs at baseline and follow up two months thereafter in two hospitals of Brandenburg Medical School during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany in an ongoing observational cohort study. Medical history and signs and symptoms were recorded by questionnaires and analyzed. (3) Results: Baseline seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA was 11.7% and increased to 15% at follow up, whereas IgG seropositivity was 2.1% at baseline and 2.2% at follow up. The rate of asymptomatic seropositive cases was 39.5%. Symptoms were not associated with general seropositivity for anti-SARS-CoV-2; however, class switch from IgA to IgG was associated with increased symptom burden. (4) Conclusions: The seroprevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was low in HCWs but higher compared to population data and increased over time. Screening for antibodies detected a significant proportion of seropositive participants cases without symptoms.
Keywords: COVID-19; Germany; IgG response; SARS-CoV-2; anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA; first wave; healthcare workers; seroprevalence; symptoms.