SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and neutralizing activity in donor and patient blood

Nat Commun. 2020 Sep 17;11(1):4698. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-18468-8.

Abstract

Given the limited availability of serological testing to date, the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in different populations has remained unclear. Here, we report very low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in two San Francisco Bay Area populations. Seroreactivity was 0.26% in 387 hospitalized patients admitted for non-respiratory indications and 0.1% in 1,000 blood donors in early April 2020. We additionally describe the longitudinal dynamics of immunoglobulin-G (IgG), immunoglobulin-M (IgM), and in vitro neutralizing antibody titers in COVID-19 patients. The median time to seroconversion ranged from 10.3-11.0 days for these 3 assays. Neutralizing antibodies rose in tandem with immunoglobulin titers following symptom onset, and positive percent agreement between detection of IgG and neutralizing titers was >93%. These findings emphasize the importance of using highly accurate tests for surveillance studies in low-prevalence populations, and provide evidence that seroreactivity using SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid protein IgG and anti-spike IgM assays are generally predictive of in vitro neutralizing capacity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing / blood*
  • Antibodies, Viral / immunology
  • Betacoronavirus / immunology*
  • COVID-19
  • COVID-19 Testing
  • Clinical Laboratory Techniques
  • Coronavirus Infections / blood
  • Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis
  • Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
  • Coronavirus Infections / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / immunology
  • Immunoglobulin M / immunology
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / blood
  • Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / immunology
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • San Francisco / epidemiology
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Serologic Tests / methods

Substances

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M