A dual-antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay allows the assessment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 antibody seroprevalence in a low-transmission setting
Authors list
Sarah M Hicks Kai Pohl Teresa Neeman Hayley A McNamara Kate M Parsons Jin-Shu He Sidra A Ali Samina Nazir Louise C Rowntree Thi HO Nguyen Katherine Kedzierska Denise L Doolan Carola Vinuesa Matthew C Cook Nicholas Coatsworth Paul S Myles Florian Kurth Leif E Sander Graham J Mann Russell L Gruen Amee J George Elizabeth E Gardiner Ian A Cockburn SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Elective Surgery CollaboratorsAbstract
Estimates of seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies have been hampered by inadequate assay sensitivity and specificity. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based approach that combines data about immunoglobulin G responses to both the nucleocapsid and spike receptor binding domain antigens, we show that excellent sensitivity and specificity can be achieved. We used this assay to assess the frequency of virus-specific antibodies in a cohort of elective surgery patients in Australia and estimated seroprevalence in Australia to be 0.28% (95% Confidence Interval, 0-1.15%). These data confirm the low level of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Australia before July 2020 and validate the specificity of our assay.
Journal details
Journal Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 223
Issue number 1
Pages 10-14
Available online
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Publisher website (DOI) 10.1093/infdis/jiaa623
Europe PubMed Central 33009908
Pubmed 33009908
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