TY - JOUR
T1 - Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 antibody prevalence in blood in a large school community subject to a Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak
T2 - A cross-sectional study
AU - Torres, Juan Pablo
AU - Piñera, Cecilia
AU - De La Maza, Verónica
AU - Lagomarcino, Anne J.
AU - Simian, Daniela
AU - Torres, Bárbara
AU - Urquidi, Cinthya
AU - Valenzuela, María Teresa
AU - O'Ryan, Miguel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/7/15
Y1 - 2021/7/15
N2 - Background. A severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak affecting 52 people from a large school community in Santiago, Chile, was identified (12 March) 9 days after the first case in the country. We assessed the magnitude of the outbreak and the role students and staff played using self-administered antibody detection tests and a self-administered survey. Methods. The school was closed on 13 March, and the entire community was placed under quarantine. We implemented a home-delivery, self-administered, immunoglobin (Ig) G/IgM antibody test and survey to a classroom-stratified sample of students and all staff from 4-19 May. We aimed to determine the overall seroprevalence rates by age group, reported symptoms, and contact exposure, and to explore the dynamics of transmission. Results. The antibody positivity rates were 9.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.2-11.8) for 1009 students and 16.6% (95% CI, 12.1- 21.9) for 235 staff. Among students, positivity was associated with a younger age (P = .01), a lower grade level (P = .05), prior real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity (P = .03), and a history of contact with a confirmed case (P < .001). Among staff, positivity was higher in teachers (P = .01) and in those previously RT-PCR positive (P < .001). Excluding RT-PCR-positive individuals, antibody positivity was associated with fever in adults and children (P = .02 and P = .002, respectively), abdominal pain in children (P = .001), and chest pain in adults (P = .02). Within antibody-positive individuals, 40% of students and 18% of staff reported no symptoms (P = .01). Conclusions. Teachers were more affected during the outbreak and younger children were at a higher risk for infection, likely because index case(s) were teachers and/or parents from the preschool. Self-administered antibody testing, supervised remotely, proved to be a suitable and rapid tool. Our study provides useful information for school reopenings.
AB - Background. A severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak affecting 52 people from a large school community in Santiago, Chile, was identified (12 March) 9 days after the first case in the country. We assessed the magnitude of the outbreak and the role students and staff played using self-administered antibody detection tests and a self-administered survey. Methods. The school was closed on 13 March, and the entire community was placed under quarantine. We implemented a home-delivery, self-administered, immunoglobin (Ig) G/IgM antibody test and survey to a classroom-stratified sample of students and all staff from 4-19 May. We aimed to determine the overall seroprevalence rates by age group, reported symptoms, and contact exposure, and to explore the dynamics of transmission. Results. The antibody positivity rates were 9.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.2-11.8) for 1009 students and 16.6% (95% CI, 12.1- 21.9) for 235 staff. Among students, positivity was associated with a younger age (P = .01), a lower grade level (P = .05), prior real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity (P = .03), and a history of contact with a confirmed case (P < .001). Among staff, positivity was higher in teachers (P = .01) and in those previously RT-PCR positive (P < .001). Excluding RT-PCR-positive individuals, antibody positivity was associated with fever in adults and children (P = .02 and P = .002, respectively), abdominal pain in children (P = .001), and chest pain in adults (P = .02). Within antibody-positive individuals, 40% of students and 18% of staff reported no symptoms (P = .01). Conclusions. Teachers were more affected during the outbreak and younger children were at a higher risk for infection, likely because index case(s) were teachers and/or parents from the preschool. Self-administered antibody testing, supervised remotely, proved to be a suitable and rapid tool. Our study provides useful information for school reopenings.
KW - Adult
KW - COVID-19
KW - Child
KW - Child, Preschool
KW - Chile
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Disease Outbreaks
KW - Humans
KW - Prevalence
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - Schools
KW - Seroepidemiologic Studies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107970544&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/cid/ciaa955
DO - 10.1093/cid/ciaa955
M3 - Article
C2 - 32649743
AN - SCOPUS:85107970544
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 73
SP - E458-E465
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
IS - 2
ER -