Abstract
We describe results of testing blood donors in London, UK, for severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) IgG before and after lockdown measures. Anonymized samples from donors 17–69 years of age were tested using 3 assays: Euroimmun IgG, Abbott IgG, and an immunoglobulin receptor-binding domain assay developed by Public Health England. Seroprevalence increased from 3.0% prelockdown (week 13, beginning March 23, 2020) to 10.4% during lockdown (weeks 15–16) and 12.3% postlockdown (week 18) by the Abbott assay. Estimates were 2.9% prelockdown, 9.9% during lockdown, and 13.0% postlockdown by the Euroimmun assay and 3.5% prelockdown, 11.8% during lockdown, and 14.1% postlockdown by the receptor-binding domain assay. By early May 2020, nearly 1 in 7 donors had evidence of past SARS-CoV-2 infection. Combining results from the Abbott and Euroimmun assays increased seroprevalence by 1.6%, 2.3%, and 0.6% at the 3 timepoints compared with Euroimmun alone, demonstrating the value of using multiple assays.
Highlights
We describe results of testing blood donors in London, UK, for severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) IgG before and after lockdown measures
We describe the results of testing whole blood donors in London, UK, who were anonymously tested as part of the national public health response to COVID-19
The overall test positivity based on the Euroimmun assay was 2.9% in week 13, 9.9% in weeks 15–16, and 13.0% in week 18
Summary
We describe results of testing blood donors in London, UK, for severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) IgG before and after lockdown measures. Despite the reporting of a range of surveillance data in England, including laboratory-confirmed cases, primary-care consultations, hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and deaths [2], much remains unknown about the magnitude of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus in the population, the key drivers of transmission, and the incidence of asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infection within the UK population far. Serologic estimates are critical to better understand epidemiologic trends and help inform policy options to control disease These estimates provide a denominator for estimating severity measures, such as infection fatality and infection hospitalization ratios, and to help clarify the epidemiology of COVID-19 in the population.
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