Abstract
Objectives: To study the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after pandemic’s peak and before the vaccine enrollment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and further explore predictors for SARS-CoV-2 positivity.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of 515 blood donors from November 22 to December 17, 2020 was conducted at King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to look at SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) positivity. The participants were asked questions about their demographic characteristics, past SARS-CoV-2 infection, SARS-CoV-2-related symptoms and exposures.
Results: The seroprevalence in our study was 12.2% (n=63/515). Being a non-citizen was associated with significantly higher seroprevalence (OR 2.10, p =0.02). Participants with history of SARS-CoV-2 exposure or symptoms regardless of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis had higher SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity compared to unexposed or asymptomatic participants (OR 2.47, p =0.0008 or 11.19, p =0.0001, respectively). Blood donors who had symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 IgG infection had a higher SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity rate (OR 5.04, p =0.008) and index value ( p =0.003) than the asymptomatic. Of all the reported symptoms, cough ( p =0.004) and anosmia ( p =0.002) were significant predictors of SARS-CoV-2 IgG.
Conclusion: The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among the blood donors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is considerably lower than the percentages necessary for herd immunity. Developing SARS-CoV-2-symptoms is the critical factor for higher seropositivity after SARS-CoV-2 exposure.
Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 serological testing; SARS-CoV-2; Saudi Arabia; anosmia; blood donors; seroepidemiologic studies.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Saudi Arabia, Anosmia, Blood donors, COVID-19 serological testing, Seroepidemiologic studies, 【초록키워드】 IgG, coronavirus, pandemic, Immunity, cross-sectional, SARS-COV-2 infection, Infection, Diagnosis, Symptom, cough, Prevalence, Asymptomatic, Immunoglobulin, symptomatic, predictor, university, serological, Critical, SARS-CoV-2 IgG, Blood, blood donor, demographic characteristics, acute respiratory syndrome, Enrollment, city, SARS-CoV-2 positivity, participant, being, reported symptoms, conducted, question, Developing, significantly higher, the vaccine, asked, King, percentage, 【제목키워드】 IgG, cross-sectional, Blood donors, predictor, blood donor, Factor,