Immunoglobulin (Ig)A seropositivity against SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers in Israel, 4 April to 13 July 2020: an observational study

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has put healthcare workers (HCW) at significant risk. Presence of antibodies can confirm prior severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Aim This study investigates the prevalence of IgA and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in HCW. Methods Performance of IgA and IgG antibody ELISA assays were initially evaluated in positive and negative SARS-CoV-2 serum samples. IgA and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were measured in 428 asymptomatic HCW. We assessed the risk of two groups: HCW with high exposure risk outside work (HROW) residing in areas where COVID-19 was endemic (n = 162) and HCW with high exposure risk at work (HRAW) in a COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) (n = 97). Results Sensitivities of 80% and 81.2% and specificities of 97.2% and 98% were observed for IgA and IgG antibodies, respectively. Of the 428 HCW, three were positive for IgG and 27 for IgA. Only 3/27 (11%) IgA-positive HCW had IgG antibodies compared with 50/62 (81%) in a group of previous SARS-CoV-2-PCR-positive individuals. Consecutive samples from IgA-positive HCW demonstrated IgA persistence 18–83 days in 12/20 samples and IgG seroconversion in 1/20 samples. IgA antibodies were present in 8.6% of HROW and 2% of HRAW. Conclusions SARS-CoV-2 exposure may lead to asymptomatic transient IgA response without IgG seroconversion. The significance of these findings needs further study. Out of work exposure is a possible risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in HCW and infection in HCW can be controlled if adequate protective equipment is implemented.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the Colombo Municipality Region, Sri Lanka

Background: As the Municipality Council area in Colombo (CMC) experienced the highest number of cases until the end of January 2021, in Sri Lanka, we carried out a serosurvey prior to initiation of the vaccination program to understand the extent of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.Methods: SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was determined in 2,547 individuals between the ages of 10–86 years, by the Wantai total antibody ELISA. We also compared seroprevalence using the haemagglutination test (HAT) to evaluate its usefulness in carrying out serosurveys.Results: The overall seropositivity rate was 24.46%, while seropositivity by HAT was 18.90%. Although The SARS-CoV-2 infection detection rates by PCR were highest in the population between the ages of 20–60 years of age, there was no statistically significant difference in the seropositivity rates in different age groups. For instance, although the seropositivity rate was highest in the 10–20 age group (34.03%), the PCR positivity rate was 9.80%. Differences in the PCR positivity rates and seropositivity rates were also seen in 60–70-year-olds (8.90 vs. 30.4%) and in individuals >70 years (4.10 vs. 1.20%). The seropositivity rate of the females was 29.70% (290/976), which was significantly higher (p < 0.002) than in males 21.2% (333/1,571).Conclusions: A high seroprevalence rate (24.5%) was seen in all age groups in the CMC suggesting that a high level of transmission was seen during this time. The higher PCR positivity rates between the ages of 20–60 are likely to be due to increased testing carried out in the working population. Therefore, the PCR positivity rates, appear to underestimate the true extent of the outbreak and the age groups which were infected.

Design of a Chimaeric Antigen And Its Use In The Detection of IgG Antibodies Against Rubella Virus

Background: Rubella virus (RV) is the causative agent of rubella or German measles. Although most infections cause only mild self-limited measles-like illness, the infection in pregnant women can cause severe foetal malformation or even miscarriage, especially in the first 3 months of pregnancy. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to establish a simple and sensitive RV detection method.Methods: The partial epitopes of the E1 and E2 proteins from Rubella Virus were selected as the target sites, the sequence of the selected antigenic sites of the E1 and E2 were linked by a linker. The expression plasmid P6T was constructed by inserting the gene into PET-32A + with a His tag. The P6 protein was induced and expressed in Escherichia coli L21 DE3 and purified by nickel column affinity. The protein P6 antigen was identified by Western blotting, and an anti-P6 antibody ELISA was established to test known serum samples to evaluate the capability of this method.Results: After purification, the concentration and purity of the protein P6 were 0.283 mg/mL and more than 80%, respectively. Western blotting showed that the protein P6 could react with rubella virus positive serum. By ELISA, 36 negative sera and 58 positive sera were detected. The coincidence rate, specificity and sensitivity of the ELISA were 88.89%, 84.48% and 84.48%, respectively. The P6 ELISA with a kappa coefficient of 0.709, P<0.05, indicated excellent consistency.Conclusions: The P6 protein with excellent antigenicity obtained from prokaryotic expression followed by chromatography purification could prove useful for early diagnosis of RV infection.

Seroprevalence of Plasmodium vivax Circumsporozoite Protein Antibody in High-Risk Malaria Areas in Korea

The circumsporozoite protein (CSP) of Plasmodium spp. is a diagnostic antigen and useful biomarker for monitoring short-term/seasonal changes to malaria transmission. Using P. vivax CSP antibody ELISA, epidemiological characteristics were analyzed in the residents of Ganghwa, Cheorwon, Paju, and Goseong from 2017 to 2018. In Ganghwa and Cheorwon, 1.6% and 1.2% of residents, respectively, were PvCSP-antibody-positive in 2018, which indicates a decrease of 0.4% in the positive rate compared to 2017. The annual parasite incidence (API) in Ganghwa and Cheorwon was 24.9 and 10.5 in 2017 and 20.3 and 10.7 in 2018, respectively. Although the changes were not significant, the API in Ganghwa decreased slightly by 4.5 in 2018 compared to the previous year. In Paju and Goseong, 3.9% and 2.0% of residents were positive for the PvCSP antibody. The API in Paju was 13.1 in 2017 and 16.0 in 2018, although no malaria patients were reported for the 2 years. Therefore, the results suggest that PvCSP is a useful antigen for confirming initial malaria infection. Additionally, considering that the antibody is relatively transient, it can be employed for sero-epidemiological studies to determine the extent of malaria transmission in the current year.

Abattoir-Based Serological Surveillance for Transboundary and Zoonotic Diseases in Cattle and Swine in Cambodia: A Pilot Study in Phnom Phen Province During 2019 and 2020.

A pilot animal disease surveillance program was implemented at four abattoirs in Phnom Penh, Cambodia between October 2019 to January 2020. A total of 1,141 samples were collected from 477 cattle and 664 swine. Serological testing was performed using commercial antibody ELISA kits for zoonotic and high impact animal diseases, namely brucellosis, Q fever, CSF, PRRS and ASF. Only two samples tested positive for brucella antibodies (0.2% (0.4, 0.6), n = 1,141). The seroprevalences of Q fever was 0.8% (0.3, 2.1, n = 477) in the cattle samples while CSF, PRRS and ASF in pigs were 55.4% (51.6, 59.2, n = 655), 81.2% (78.1, 84.0, n = 655) and 2.6% (1.6, 4.1, n = 664), respectively. All 38 doubtful and 17 positive ASF antibody ELISA samples were negative when tested by real-time PCR. Statistical analyses demonstrated that the factors that were significantly associated with positive results of Q fever was sampling date (p-value = 0.04), and for ASF was the location of the abattoir (p-value = 0.002). Significant risk factors for both CSF and PRRS were the province of origin of the animals (CSF: p-value = 0.002; PRRS: p-value = 0.004) and sample collection month (CSF: p-value = 1.6 x 10− 6 ; PRRS: p-value = 4.8 x 10− 13). In conclusion, the prevalence of zoonotic diseases tested for in this study were very low. The high prevalences of CSF and PRRS antibodies were most likely the result of vaccination. All ASF seropositive pigs, including those that gave equivocal results, originated from large-scale Cambodian-based commercial farms, as well as Thailand, which raises questions about possible illegal vaccination or low-pathogenicity ASF variants. The pilot abattoir serosurveillance program described here has the potential to provide a sentinel for incursions of novel and endemic pathogens although further work is required to demonstrate its capacity to provide information on the longitudinal disease trends.

Prevalence of anti-platelet factor4/polyanionic antibodies after COVID-19 vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and CoronaVac in Thais

Introduction: Vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) has been reported after vaccination with the adenoviral vector COVID-19 vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 in European countries. To date, no case of VITT has been reported in Thais after COVID-19 vaccination. We determined the frequency of anti-PF4/polyanionic antibodies in the Thai population receiving the COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate the prevalence of anti-PF4/polyanionic antibodies in health care workers who received COVID-19 vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or CoronaVac within 7-35 days. A control population who had not been vaccinated was also included. Anti-PF4/polyanionic antibodies were detected using enzyme-link immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Functional assay with platelet aggregation was performed for all positive anti-PF4/polyanionic antibody ELISA tests. Results: A total of 646 participants were included in the study. 221 received ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, 232 received CoronaVac, and 193 participants were in the control group. The prevalence of anti-PF4 antibodies was 2.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7 to 5.2), 1.7% (95% CI, 0.5 to 4.4) in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and CoronaVac groups, respectively. There was no positive test in the control group. None of the PF4/polyanionic positive sera induced platelet aggregation. Conclusion: We found a low prevalence of anti-PF4 antibodies in Thais after vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and CoronaVac. Low titer positive PF4/polyanionic ELISA results should be interpreted with caution when screening asymptomatic individuals after vaccination against COVID-19.

Diagnostic Performance of Three Serological Assays for Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Detection

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of Electrochemiluminescence (ECLIA) enzyme linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and lateral flow Immunofluorescence (LFIA) for anti-SARS-COV-2 antibody detection. Materials and Methods: Sensitivity was calculated with convalescent plasma (CP) donor’s samples. Specificity was checked by using pre-pandemic October 2019 samples. All samples were tested for anti-SARS-COV-2 antibody by using Electrochemiluminescence (ECLIA), Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Lateral flow Immunofluorescence (LFIA) assay. Results: Total 55 patients were included, 45 patients were CP donors and 10 were Pre-Pandemic October 2019 samples archived from our blood bank. The ECLIA-total antibody, ELISA-IgG and LLFIA-IgG were positive in 41 (91.1%), 34 (75.5%) and 44 (97.75%) respectively. The highest sensitivity was observed for LFIA with highest specificity among all three assays. There was almost perfect agreement between LFIA and ECLIA (k=0.936, p<0.001) but there was fair agreement between LFIA and ELISA (k=0.412, p=0.001) and ECLIA and ELISA (k=0.357, p=0.001). Conclusion: The LFIA showed a higher sensitivity and specificity in comparison with ECLIA and ELISA. It might be due to fact that LFIA detect antibody against ncleocapsid and spike protein as well of SARS- COV-2 virus, while ECLIA and ELISA detects antibodies only against “N” Protein of SARS- COV-2 virus. Keywords: Convalescent plasma donors, Lateral flow Immunofluorescence assay, Electrochemiluminescence assay, Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, Performance.

Use of Rv0222-Rv2657c-Rv1509 Fusion Protein to Improve the Accuracy of an Antibody ELISA for Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Humans

(1) Background: Tuberculosis (TB) in humans is a serious chronic epidemic disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb). The diagnosis of TB, especially extra-pulmonary TB (EPTB), is difficult. Isolation of M. tb from culture has a low sensitivity in patients with TB and an even lower sensitivity in cases of EPTB. Although Xpert MTB/RIF assays and serological tests are more sensitive than the above tests, they still lack sensitivity for EPTB diagnosis. (2) Methods: To improve the accuracy of TB diagnosis, a Rv0222-Rv2657c-Rv1509 fusion protein based iELISA was constructed, the diagnosis of TB, pulmonary TB (PTB) and EPTB was then evaluated. Sera of 40 TB patients including 14 with PTB, 14 with EPTB and 12 with no information about the form of TB, and five pneumonia patients were investigated. (3) Results: The sensitivity of the ELISA in TB, PTB and EPTB patients was 80% (95% CI: 64.4, 90.9%), 85.7% (95% CI: 57.2, 98.2%) and 92.8% (95% CI: 66.1, 99.8%), respectively, with a specificity of 70% (95% CI: 53.5, 83.4%). Both the sensitivity and specificity with this fusion protein were higher than for CFP10/ESAT6 (used as reference antigen) fusion protein (71.4%; 95% CI: 41.9, 91.6%, and 67.5%; 95% CI: 50.9, 81.4%), respectively, in cases of EPTB. All pneumonia patients’ sera tested negative in both ELISAs. (4) Conclusion: use of these new fusion proteins as antigens in serological assays has the potential to improve the diagnosis of all forms of TB in humans, especially EPTB.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Colombo Municipality region, Sri Lanka

Background As the Municipality Council area in Colombo (CMC) experienced the highest number of cases until end of January 2021, in Sri Lanka, we carried out a serosurvey prior to initiation of the vaccination program to understand the extent of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. Methods SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was determined in 2547 individuals between the ages of 10 to 86 years, by the Wantai total antibody ELISA. We also compared to seroprevalence using the haemagglutination test (HAT) to evaluate its usefulness in carrying out serosurveys. Results The overall seropositivity rate was 24.46%, while seropositivity by HAT was 18.9%. Although the SARS-CoV-2 infection detection rates by PCR were highest in the population between the ages of 20 to 60 years of age, the seropositivity rates were equal among all age groups. The seropositivity rate was highest in the 10 to 20 age group (34.03%), whereas the PCR positivity rates was 9.8%. Differences in the PCR positivity rates and seropositivity rates were also seen in 60- to 70-year-olds (8.9% vs 30.4%) and in individuals >70 year (4.1% vs 1.2%). The seropositivity rates of the females was 29.7% (290/976), which was significantly higher (p<0.002) than in males 21.2% (333/1571). Conclusions A high seroprevalence rate (24.5%) was seen in all age groups in the CMC suggesting that a high level of transmission was seen during this area. The PCR positivity rates, appear to underestimate the true extent of the outbreak and the age groups which were infected.