tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Korean Med Sci
. 2020 Jul 27;35(29):e269.
doi: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e269.
IgG Seroprevalence of COVID-19 among Individuals without a History of the Coronavirus Disease Infection in Daegu, Korea
Suk Kyoon Song[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Duk Hee Lee[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jun Ho Nam[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kyung Tae Kim[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jung Suk Do[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dae Won Kang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sang Gyung Kim[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Myung Rae Cho[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Seroprevalence studies of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from many countries have shown that the number of undiagnosed missing cases is much larger than that of confirmed cases, irrespective of seroprevalence levels. Considering the strategy of Korea entailing massive testing and contact tracing from the beginning of epidemic, the number of undiagnosed missing cases in Korea may be negligible. This study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of COVID-19 among individuals who were never diagnosed with COVID-19 in Daegu, the epicenter of COVID-19 epidemic in Korea.
Methods: Serologic testing for immunoglobulin G antibody based on immunochromatographic assay was conducted in 103 patients and 95 guardians aged 18 to 82 years without any history of COVID-19 diagnosis, who visited outpatient clinics of a single university-affiliated hospital from May 25 to June 5, 2020.
Results: The estimated seroprevalence was 7.6% (95% confidence interval, 4.3%-12.2%) with 15 positive cases. Among them, only one had a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed case among their close contacts and 13 did not experience COVID-19-related symptoms. Seroprevalence was similar between patients and guardians. Based on this figure, the number of undiagnosed missing cases in Daegu was estimated to be a dozen times more than the number of confirmed cases based on PCR testing.
Conclusion: Despite the limitation of a small and unrepresentative sample, this is the first study on seroprevalence of COVID-19 in Korea. Our study suggested that the number of undiagnosed missing cases was substantial even with the stringent strategy adopted in Korea, similar to that of other countries.
Keywords: Antibody Test; COVID-19; Daegu; Hospital Visitors; Korea; Seroprevalence.
. 2020 Jul 27;35(29):e269.
doi: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e269.
IgG Seroprevalence of COVID-19 among Individuals without a History of the Coronavirus Disease Infection in Daegu, Korea
Suk Kyoon Song[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Duk Hee Lee[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jun Ho Nam[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kyung Tae Kim[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jung Suk Do[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dae Won Kang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sang Gyung Kim[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Myung Rae Cho[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32715672
- DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e269
Abstract
Background: Seroprevalence studies of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from many countries have shown that the number of undiagnosed missing cases is much larger than that of confirmed cases, irrespective of seroprevalence levels. Considering the strategy of Korea entailing massive testing and contact tracing from the beginning of epidemic, the number of undiagnosed missing cases in Korea may be negligible. This study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of COVID-19 among individuals who were never diagnosed with COVID-19 in Daegu, the epicenter of COVID-19 epidemic in Korea.
Methods: Serologic testing for immunoglobulin G antibody based on immunochromatographic assay was conducted in 103 patients and 95 guardians aged 18 to 82 years without any history of COVID-19 diagnosis, who visited outpatient clinics of a single university-affiliated hospital from May 25 to June 5, 2020.
Results: The estimated seroprevalence was 7.6% (95% confidence interval, 4.3%-12.2%) with 15 positive cases. Among them, only one had a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed case among their close contacts and 13 did not experience COVID-19-related symptoms. Seroprevalence was similar between patients and guardians. Based on this figure, the number of undiagnosed missing cases in Daegu was estimated to be a dozen times more than the number of confirmed cases based on PCR testing.
Conclusion: Despite the limitation of a small and unrepresentative sample, this is the first study on seroprevalence of COVID-19 in Korea. Our study suggested that the number of undiagnosed missing cases was substantial even with the stringent strategy adopted in Korea, similar to that of other countries.
Keywords: Antibody Test; COVID-19; Daegu; Hospital Visitors; Korea; Seroprevalence.