tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis
. 2025 Jul 8;113(3):116996.
doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2025.116996. Online ahead of print. "Enhanced seropositivity and sustained antibody response among healthcare workers: A seroprevalence study during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
Anagoni Srikar[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Mudhigeti Nagaraja[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Alladi Mohan[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Kodavala Sireesha[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Anju Verma[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Usha Kalawat[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are a well-known risk group for coronavirus infection with increased working hours in a potentially infectious environment and immunity levels to be monitored.
Methods: 1001 HCWs were tested for both IgG and Neutralizing antibodies. IgG avidity was tested in 100 HCWs using 3 M, 5 M and 7 M urea concentration. One-year follow-up testing for both IgG and Neutralizing antibodies was performed in 151 HCWs.
Results: COVID-19 IgG antibody levels were high among 299 (94.62 %) HCWs with a history of COVID-19 infection (p <0.0001) compared to 479 (69.92 %) HCWs who were not infected with COVID-19 during the first and second waves. A total of 899 (89.81 %) HCWs had more than 50 % neutralizing antibodies, whereas the remaining 102 (10.19 %) HCWs had less than 50 % neutralizing antibodies. The avidity index was maintained at approximately 40 % (grey zone). In our study, 5.1 folds the IgG levels increased after 1 year compared to the initial results, with a 6.3 folds increase in the high-risk group compared to 3.6 folds increase in the low-risk group.
Conclusions: Healthcare workers with a higher infection rate and two-fold higher IgG levels in HCWs involved in COVID-19 duty and their persistence for a longer time than in other groups signify sustained antibody responses of IgG antibodies, which play a crucial role in reducing the severity of disease in HCWs involved in COVID-19 patient care and may provide protection against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Keywords: Antibody avidity; Healthcare workers; IgG antibody; Neutralizing antibody; SARS-CoV-2.
. 2025 Jul 8;113(3):116996.
doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2025.116996. Online ahead of print. "Enhanced seropositivity and sustained antibody response among healthcare workers: A seroprevalence study during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
Anagoni Srikar[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Mudhigeti Nagaraja[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Alladi Mohan[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Kodavala Sireesha[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Anju Verma[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Usha Kalawat[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 40684547
- DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2025.116996
Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are a well-known risk group for coronavirus infection with increased working hours in a potentially infectious environment and immunity levels to be monitored.
Methods: 1001 HCWs were tested for both IgG and Neutralizing antibodies. IgG avidity was tested in 100 HCWs using 3 M, 5 M and 7 M urea concentration. One-year follow-up testing for both IgG and Neutralizing antibodies was performed in 151 HCWs.
Results: COVID-19 IgG antibody levels were high among 299 (94.62 %) HCWs with a history of COVID-19 infection (p <0.0001) compared to 479 (69.92 %) HCWs who were not infected with COVID-19 during the first and second waves. A total of 899 (89.81 %) HCWs had more than 50 % neutralizing antibodies, whereas the remaining 102 (10.19 %) HCWs had less than 50 % neutralizing antibodies. The avidity index was maintained at approximately 40 % (grey zone). In our study, 5.1 folds the IgG levels increased after 1 year compared to the initial results, with a 6.3 folds increase in the high-risk group compared to 3.6 folds increase in the low-risk group.
Conclusions: Healthcare workers with a higher infection rate and two-fold higher IgG levels in HCWs involved in COVID-19 duty and their persistence for a longer time than in other groups signify sustained antibody responses of IgG antibodies, which play a crucial role in reducing the severity of disease in HCWs involved in COVID-19 patient care and may provide protection against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Keywords: Antibody avidity; Healthcare workers; IgG antibody; Neutralizing antibody; SARS-CoV-2.