Seropositivity of SARS-CoV-2 in the Population of Kazakhstan: A Nationwide Laboratory-Based Surveillance.

Yuliya Semenova,Paolo Colet,Alexandr Ivankov,Saltanat Mamyrbekova,Ardak Nurbakyt,Aynura Kudirbekova,Natalya Glushkova,Ardak Baizhaxynova,Ainash Oshibayeva,Zhanna Kalmatayeva,Antonio Sarria-Santamera

doi:10.3390/ijerph19042263

Abstract

The data on seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Kazakhstani population are non-existent, but are needed for planning of public health interventions targeted to COVID-19 containment. The aim of the study was to estimate the seropositivity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Kazakhstani population from 2020 to 2021. We relied on the data obtained from the results from “IN VITRO” laboratories of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for class G immunoglobulins (IgG) and class M (IgM) to SARS-CoV-2. The association of COVID-19 seropositivity was assessed in relation to age, gender, and region of residence. Additionally, we related the monitoring of longitudinal seropositivity with COVID-19 statistics obtained from Our World in Data. The total numbers of tests were 68,732 for SARS-CoV-2 IgM and 85,346 for IgG, of which 22% and 63% were positive, respectively. The highest rates of positive anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM results were seen during July/August 2020. The rate of IgM seropositivity was the lowest on 25 October 2020 (2%). The lowest daily rate of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG was 17% (13 December 2020), while the peak of IgG seropositivity was seen on 6 June 2021 (84%). A longitudinal serological study should be envisaged to facilitate understanding of the dynamics of the epidemiological situation and to forecast future scenarios.

Highlights

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound impact across the globe.Infection with SARS-CoV-2 stimulates a detectable antibody response in most people.Antibody tests may help understand how many people have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19
Males had higher rate of positive anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM results than females: the overall seropositivity constituted 23.7% versus 20.2%
For anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, the rate of positive results was comparable between males and females: 62.8% versus

Summary

Introduction

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound impact across the globe.Infection with SARS-CoV-2 stimulates a detectable antibody response in most people.Antibody tests may help understand how many people have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound impact across the globe. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 stimulates a detectable antibody response in most people. Antibody tests may help understand how many people have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Serological tests identify infection status and were in high demand from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the initial shortage of diagnostic tests that were coupled with asymptomatic infections. Public health authorities were hesitant to introduce them because of epidemiological and clinical uncertainties. The Republic of Kazakhstan (hereafter, Kazakhstan) is the largest country of the Central Asian region, sharing borders with the Russian Federation in the north and China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan in the south.

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