Article ; Online: High Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG and RNA among Asymptomatic Blood Donors in Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia
Vaccines, Vol 10, Iss 8, p
2022 Volume 1279
Abstract: The gold-standard approach for diagnosing and confirming Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This method, however, is inefficient in detecting previous or ... ...
Abstract | The gold-standard approach for diagnosing and confirming Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This method, however, is inefficient in detecting previous or dormant viral infections. The presence of antigen-specific antibodies is the fingerprint and cardinal sign for diagnosis and determination of exposure to infectious agents including Corona virus disease-2019 (COVID-19). This cross-sectional study examined the presence of SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) among asymptomatic blood donors in Makkah region. A total of 4368 asymptomatic blood donors were enrolled. They were screened for spike-specific IgG using ELISA and COVID-19 RNA by real-time PCR. COVID-19 IgG was detected among 2248 subjects (51.5%) while COVID-19-RNA was detected among 473 (10.8%) subjects. The IgG frequency was significantly higher among males and non-Saudi residents ( p < 0.001 each) with no significant variation in IgG positivity among blood donors with different blood groups. In addition, COVID-19 RNA frequency was significantly higher among donors below 40-years old ( p = 0.047, χ 2 = 3.95), and non-Saudi residents ( p = 0.001, χ 2 = 304.5). The COVID-19 IgG levels were significantly higher among the RNA-positive donors ( p = 001), and non-Saudi residents ( p = 0.041), with no variations with age or blood group ( p > 0.05). This study reveals a very high prevalence of COVID-19 IgG and RNA among asymptomatic blood donors in Makkah, Saudi Arabia indicating a high exposure rate of the general population to COVID-19; particularly foreign residents. It sheds light on the spread on COVID-19 among apparently healthy individuals at the beginning of the pandemic and could help in designing various control measures to minimize viral spread. |
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Keywords | blood donors ; COVID-19 ; IgG ; SARS-CoV-2 ; seroprevalence ; Medicine ; R |
Subject code | 610 ; 630 |
Language | English |
Publishing date | 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z |
Publisher | MDPI AG |
Document type | Article ; Online |
Database | BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection) |
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