A prospective study of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection among individuals involved in academic research under limited operations during the COVID-19 pandemic

Pettifor, A; DiPrete, BL; Shook-Sa, BE; Premkumar, L; Kuczynski, K; Dittmer, D; Aiello, A; Wallet, S; Maile, R; Tan, J; Jadi, R; Pluta, L; de Silva, AM; Weber, DJ; Kim, M; Seña, AC; Jones, CD

COVID-19 Collection

Journal article

A prospective study of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection among individuals involved in academic research under limited operations during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract:: Background Early in the pandemic, transmission risk from asymptomatic infection was unclear, making it imperative to monitor infection in workplace settings. Further, data on SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence within university populations has been limited. Methods We performed a longitudinal study of University research employees on campus July-December 2020. We conducted questionnaires on COVID-19 risk factors, RT-PCR testing, and SARS-CoV-2 serology using an in-house spike RBD assay, laboratory-based Spike NTD assay, and standard nucleocapsid platform assay. We estimated prevalence and cumulative incidence of seroconversion with 95% confidence intervals using the inverse of the Kaplan-Meier estimator. Results 910 individuals were included in this analysis. At baseline, 6.2% (95% CI 4.29–8.19) were seropositive using the spike RBD assay; four (0.4%) were seropositive using the nucleocapsid assay, and 44 (4.8%) using the Spike NTD assay. Cumulative incidence was 3.61% (95% CI: 2.04–5.16). Six asymptomatic individuals had positive RT-PCR results. Conclusions Prevalence and incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections were low; however, differences in target antigens of serological tests provided different estimates. Future research on appropriate methods of serological testing in unvaccinated and vaccinated populations is needed. Frequent RT-PCR testing of asymptomatic individuals is required to detect acute infections, and repeated serosurveys are beneficial for monitoring subclinical infection

Publication status:: Published

Peer review status:: Peer reviewed

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APA Style

Pettifor, A., DiPrete, B. L., Shook-Sa, B. E., Premkumar, L., Kuczynski, K., Dittmer, D., Aiello, A., Wallet, S., Maile, R., Tan, J., Jadi, R., Pluta, L., de Silva, A. M., Weber, D. J., Kim, M., Seña, A. C., & Jones, C. D. (2022). A prospective study of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection among individuals involved in academic research under limited operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS ONE, 17(4), e0267353–e0267353.

MLA Style

Pettifor, A, et al. “A Prospective Study of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Individuals Involved in Academic Research under Limited Operations during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” PLoS ONE, vol. 17, no. 4, 2022, pp. e0267353–e0267353.

Chicago Style

Pettifor, A, BL DiPrete, BE Shook-Sa, et al. 2022. “A Prospective Study of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Individuals Involved in Academic Research under Limited Operations during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” PLoS ONE 17 (4): e0267353–e0267353.
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