Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among Blood Donors and Changes after Introduction of Public Health and Social Measures, London, UK

Journal article

We describe results of testing blood donors in London, UK, for severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) IgG before and after lockdown measures. Anonymized samples from donors 17-69 years of age were tested using 3 assays: Euroimmun IgG, Abbott IgG, and an immunoglobulin receptor-binding domain assay developed by Public Health England. Seroprevalence increased from 3.0% prelockdown (week 13, beginning March 23, 2020) to 10.4% during lockdown (weeks 15-16) and 12.3% postlockdown (week 18) by the Abbott assay. Estimates were 2.9% prelockdown, 9.9% during lockdown, and 13.0% postlockdown by the Euroimmun assay and 3.5% prelockdown, 11.8% during lockdown, and 14.1% postlockdown by the receptor-binding domain assay. By early May 2020, nearly 1 in 7 donors had evidence of past SARS-CoV-2 infection. Combining results from the Abbott and Euroimmun assays increased seroprevalence by 1.6%, 2.3%, and 0.6% at the 3 timepoints compared with Euroimmun alone, demonstrating the value of using multiple assays.

Authors: Amirthalingam, G; Whitaker, H; Brooks, T; Brown, K; Hoschler, K

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Journal: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 1795-1801
• Publication date: 2021-06-21
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2707.203167
• EISSN: 1080-6059
• ISSN: 1080-6040
• Language: English
• Keywords: Outbreak; Immunology; Virology; Seroprevalence; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Antibody; Pathology; Environmental health; 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak; Medicine; Disease; Coronavirus Infections; Public health; Infectious disease (medical specialty); Family medicine; Serology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)