tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
JAMA Intern Med
. 2020 Nov 24.
doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.7976. Online ahead of print.
Estimated SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in the US as of September 2020
Kristina L Bajema[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ryan E Wiegand[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kendra Cuffe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sadhna V Patel[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ronaldo Iachan[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Travis Lim[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Adam Lee[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Davia Moyse[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Fiona P Havers[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lee Harding[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Alicia M Fry[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aron J Hall[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kelly Martin[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Marjorie Biel[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yangyang Deng[SUP] 2 [/SUP], William A Meyer 3rd[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mohit Mathur[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Tonja Kyle[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Adi V Gundlapalli[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Natalie J Thornburg[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lyle R Petersen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chris Edens[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Importance: Case-based surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection likely underestimates the true prevalence of infections. Large-scale seroprevalence surveys can better estimate infection across many geographic regions.
Objective: To estimate the prevalence of persons with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using residual sera from commercial laboratories across the US and assess changes over time.
Design, setting, and participants: This repeated, cross-sectional study conducted across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico used a convenience sample of residual serum specimens provided by persons of all ages that were originally submitted for routine screening or clinical management from 2 private clinical commercial laboratories. Samples were obtained during 4 collection periods: July 27 to August 13, August 10 to August 27, August 24 to September 10, and September 7 to September 24, 2020.
Exposures: Infection with SARS-CoV-2.
Main outcomes and measures: The proportion of persons previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 as measured by the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 by 1 of 3 chemiluminescent immunoassays. Iterative poststratification was used to adjust seroprevalence estimates to the demographic profile and urbanicity of each jurisdiction. Seroprevalence was estimated by jurisdiction, sex, age group (0-17, 18-49, 50-64, and ≥65 years), and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status.
Results: Of 177 919 serum samples tested, 103 771 (58.3%) were from women, 26 716 (15.0%) from persons 17 years or younger, 47 513 (26.7%) from persons 65 years or older, and 26 290 (14.8%) from individuals living in nonmetropolitan areas. Jurisdiction-level seroprevalence over 4 collection periods ranged from less than 1% to 23%. In 42 of 49 jurisdictions with sufficient samples to estimate seroprevalence across all periods, fewer than 10% of people had detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Seroprevalence estimates varied between sexes, across age groups, and between metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas. Changes from period 1 to 4 were less than 7 percentage points in all jurisdictions and varied across sites.
Conclusions and relevance: This cross-sectional study found that as of September 2020, most persons in the US did not have serologic evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, although prevalence varied widely by jurisdiction. Biweekly nationwide testing of commercial clinical laboratory sera can play an important role in helping track the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the US.
. 2020 Nov 24.
doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.7976. Online ahead of print.
Estimated SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in the US as of September 2020
Kristina L Bajema[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ryan E Wiegand[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kendra Cuffe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sadhna V Patel[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ronaldo Iachan[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Travis Lim[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Adam Lee[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Davia Moyse[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Fiona P Havers[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lee Harding[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Alicia M Fry[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aron J Hall[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kelly Martin[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Marjorie Biel[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yangyang Deng[SUP] 2 [/SUP], William A Meyer 3rd[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mohit Mathur[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Tonja Kyle[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Adi V Gundlapalli[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Natalie J Thornburg[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lyle R Petersen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chris Edens[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33231628
- DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.7976
Abstract
Importance: Case-based surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection likely underestimates the true prevalence of infections. Large-scale seroprevalence surveys can better estimate infection across many geographic regions.
Objective: To estimate the prevalence of persons with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using residual sera from commercial laboratories across the US and assess changes over time.
Design, setting, and participants: This repeated, cross-sectional study conducted across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico used a convenience sample of residual serum specimens provided by persons of all ages that were originally submitted for routine screening or clinical management from 2 private clinical commercial laboratories. Samples were obtained during 4 collection periods: July 27 to August 13, August 10 to August 27, August 24 to September 10, and September 7 to September 24, 2020.
Exposures: Infection with SARS-CoV-2.
Main outcomes and measures: The proportion of persons previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 as measured by the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 by 1 of 3 chemiluminescent immunoassays. Iterative poststratification was used to adjust seroprevalence estimates to the demographic profile and urbanicity of each jurisdiction. Seroprevalence was estimated by jurisdiction, sex, age group (0-17, 18-49, 50-64, and ≥65 years), and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status.
Results: Of 177 919 serum samples tested, 103 771 (58.3%) were from women, 26 716 (15.0%) from persons 17 years or younger, 47 513 (26.7%) from persons 65 years or older, and 26 290 (14.8%) from individuals living in nonmetropolitan areas. Jurisdiction-level seroprevalence over 4 collection periods ranged from less than 1% to 23%. In 42 of 49 jurisdictions with sufficient samples to estimate seroprevalence across all periods, fewer than 10% of people had detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Seroprevalence estimates varied between sexes, across age groups, and between metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas. Changes from period 1 to 4 were less than 7 percentage points in all jurisdictions and varied across sites.
Conclusions and relevance: This cross-sectional study found that as of September 2020, most persons in the US did not have serologic evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, although prevalence varied widely by jurisdiction. Biweekly nationwide testing of commercial clinical laboratory sera can play an important role in helping track the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the US.
