Abstract
BackgroundCOVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The immunopathogenesis of the infection is currently unknown. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at highest risk of infection and disease.Aim of the study was to assess the sero-prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in an Italian cohort of HCWs exposed to COVID-19 patients.MethodsA point-of-care lateral flow immunoassay (BioMedomics IgM-IgG Combined Antibody Rapid Test) was adopted to assess the prevalence of IgG and IgM against SARS-CoV-2. It was ethically approved (“Milano Area 1” Ethical Committee prot. n. 2020/ST/057).ResultsA total of 202 individuals (median age 45 years; 34.7% males) were retrospectively recruited in an Italian hospital (Milan, Italy). The percentage (95% CI) of recruited individuals with IgM and IgG were 14.4% (9.6–19.2%) and 7.4% (3.8–11.0%), respectively. IgM were more frequently found in males (24.3%), and in individuals aged 20–29 (25.9%) and 60–69 (30.4%) years. No relationship was found between exposure to COVID-19 patients and IgM and IgG positivity.ConclusionsThe present study did show a low prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgM in Italian HCWs. New studies are needed to assess the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in HCWs exposed to COVID-19 patients, as well the role of neutralizing antibodies.
Highlights
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)
The present study shows a low IgM prevalence (29, 14.4%) in Healthcare workers (HCWs) working in an Italian hospital with a high burden of COVID-19 patients
The presence of IgM in the serum is potentially associated with an acute phase in the majority of the infections; in particular, the indirect diagnosis based on the assessment of an immunological response against a virus was adopted to ascertain a recent interaction between a virus and the human host
Summary
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Aim of the study was to assess the sero-prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in an Italian cohort of HCWs exposed to COVID19 patients. The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) is a newly emerging virus which can spread rapidly. The SARS-CoV-2-related disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization [1]. Supportive critical care can save lives of infected cases [4]. Real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the gold-standard for the virological diagnosis. Several cases of falsenegative patients have been described owing to low viral load [5] and inappropriate sample collection. The antibody response kinetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection is largely unknown, as well as its clinical value
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