Antibody conversion rates to SARS-CoV-2 in saliva from children attending summer schools in Barcelona, Spain
-
Published:2021-11-23
Issue:1
Volume:19
Page:
-
ISSN:1741-7015
-
Container-title:BMC Medicine
-
language:en
-
Short-container-title:BMC Med
Author:
Dobaño CarlotaORCID, Alonso Selena, Fernández de Sevilla Mariona, Vidal Marta, Jiménez Alfons, Pons Tomas Gemma, Jairoce Chenjerai, Melé Casas María, Rubio Rocío, Hernández García María, Ruiz-Olalla Gemma, Girona-Alarcón Mònica, Barrios Diana, Santano Rebeca, Mitchell Robert A., Puyol Laura, Mayer Leonie, Chi Jordi, Rodrigo Melero Natalia, Carolis Carlo, Garcia-Miquel Aleix, Bonet-Carne Elisenda, Claverol Joana, Cubells Marta, Fortuny Claudia, Fumadó Victoria, Jou Cristina, Muñoz-Almagro Carmen, Izquierdo Luis, Bassat Quique, Gratacós Eduard, Aguilar Ruth, García-García Juan José, Moncunill Gemma, Jordan Iolanda
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Surveillance tools to estimate viral transmission dynamics in young populations are essential to guide recommendations for school opening and management during viral epidemics. Ideally, sensitive techniques are required to detect low viral load exposures among asymptomatic children. We aimed to estimate SARS-CoV-2 infection rates in children and adult populations in a school-like environment during the initial COVID-19 pandemic waves using an antibody-based field-deployable and non-invasive approach.
Methods
Saliva antibody conversion defined as ≥ 4-fold increase in IgM, IgA, and/or IgG levels to five SARS-CoV-2 antigens including spike and nucleocapsid constructs was evaluated in 1509 children and 396 adults by high-throughput Luminex assays in samples collected weekly in 22 summer schools and 2 pre-schools in 27 venues in Barcelona, Spain, from June 29th to July 31st, 2020.
Results
Saliva antibody conversion between two visits over a 5-week period was 3.22% (49/1518) or 2.36% if accounting for potentially cross-reactive antibodies, six times higher than the cumulative infection rate (0.53%) assessed by weekly saliva RT-PCR screening. IgG conversion was higher in adults (2.94%, 11/374) than children (1.31%, 15/1144) (p=0.035), IgG and IgA levels moderately increased with age, and antibodies were higher in females. Most antibody converters increased both IgG and IgA antibodies but some augmented either IgG or IgA, with a faster decay over time for IgA than IgG. Nucleocapsid rather than spike was the main antigen target. Anti-spike antibodies were significantly higher in individuals not reporting symptoms than symptomatic individuals, suggesting a protective role against COVID-19.
Conclusion
Saliva antibody profiling including three isotypes and multiplexing antigens is a useful and user-friendlier tool for screening pediatric populations to detect low viral load exposures among children, particularly while they are not vaccinated and vulnerable to highly contagious variants, and to recommend public health policies during pandemics.
Funder
stavros niarchos foundation fundació privada daniel bravo andreu banco santander
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference39 articles.
1. Brotons P, Launes C, Buetas E, Fumado V, Henares D, de Sevilla MF, et al. Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection among children and adults: a seroprevalence study of family households in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region, Spain. Clin Infect Dis. 2020;72(12):ciaa1721. 2. Cruz AT, Zeichner SL. COVID-19 in children: initial characterization of the pediatric disease. Pediatrics. 2020;145(6):e20200834. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-0834. 3. Lu X, Zhang L, Du H, Zhang J, Li YY, Qu J, et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection in children. New Eng J Med. 2020;382(17):1663–5. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2005073. 4. Ludvigsson JF. Children are unlikely to be the main drivers of the COVID-19 pandemic - a systematic review. Acta Paediatr. 2020;109(8):1525–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.15371. 5. Bi Q, Wu Y, Mei S, Ye C, Zou X, Zhang Z, et al. Epidemiology and transmission of COVID-19 in 391 cases and 1286 of their close contacts in Shenzhen, China: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20(8):911–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30287-5.
Cited by
11 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献
|
|