Humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in five different groups of individuals at different environmental and professional risk of infection

It is partially unknown whether the immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection persists with time. To address this issue, we detected the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in different groups of individuals previously diagnosed with COVID-19 disease (group 1 and 2), or potentially exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection (group 3 and 4), and in a representative group of individuals with limited environmental exposure to the virus due to lockdown restrictions (group 5). The primary outcome was specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the different groups assessed by qualitative and quantitative analysis at baseline, 3 and 6 months follow-up. The seroconversion rate at baseline test was 95% in group 1, 61% in group 2, 40% in group 3, 17% in group 4 and 3% in group 5. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed male gender, close COVID-19 contact and presence of COVID-19 related symptoms strongly associated with serological positivity. The percentage of positive individuals as assessed by the qualitative and quantitative tests was superimposable. At the quantitative test, the median level of SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels measured in positive cases retested at 6-months increased significantly from baseline. The study indicates that assessing antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 through qualitative and quantitative testing is a reliable disease surveillance tool.

Automated summary

This study investigated the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 in different groups, finding varying seroconversion rates and levels of antibodies. Factors such as male gender, close contact with COVID-19 cases, and presence of symptoms were strongly associated with serological positivity. The study suggests that qualitative and quantitative antibody testing is a reliable tool for disease surveillance.