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Enhanced surveillance of COVID-19 in Scotland : population-based seroprevalence surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave of the epidemic

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Date
01/2021
Author
Dickson, E
Palmateer, N E
Murray, J
Robertson, C
Waugh, C
Wallace, L A
Mathie, L
Heatlie, K
Mavin, S
Gousias, P
Von Wissman, B
Goldberg, D J
McAuley, A
Keywords
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2
Coronavirus
Seropervalence
Serology
Antibodies
RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
3rd-DAS
NIS
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Abstract
Objectives: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland has been amongst the most severe in Europe. Serological surveillance is critical to determine the overall extent of infection across populations and to inform the public health response. This study aimed to estimate the proportion of people who have antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 ('seroprevalence') in the general population of Scotland and to see if this changes over time. Study Design/Methods: Between International Organization for Standardization (ISO) week 17 (i.e. week commencing 20th April) and ISO week 25 (week commencing 15 June), 4751 residual blood samples were obtained from regional biochemistry laboratories in six participating regional health authority areas covering approximately 75% of the Scottish population. Samples were tested for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies using the LIAISON®SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG assay (DiaSorin, Italy). Seroprevalence rates were adjusted for the sensitivity and specificity of the assay using Bayesian methods. Results: The combined adjusted seroprevalence across the study period was 4.3% (95% confidence interval: 4.2%-4.5%). The proportion varied each week between 1.9% and 6.8% with no difference in antibody positivity by age, sex or geographical area. Conclusions: At the end of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, only a small fraction of the Scottish population had antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. Control of COVID-19 requires the ability to detect asymptomatic and mild infections that would otherwise remain undetected through existing surveillance systems. This is important to determine the true number of infections within the general population which, in turn, can help to understand transmission, inform control measures and provide a denominator for the estimation of severity measures such as the proportion of infected people who have been hospitalised and/or have died.
Citation
Dickson , E , Palmateer , N E , Murray , J , Robertson , C , Waugh , C , Wallace , L A , Mathie , L , Heatlie , K , Mavin , S , Gousias , P , Von Wissman , B , Goldberg , D J & McAuley , A 2021 , ' Enhanced surveillance of COVID-19 in Scotland : population-based seroprevalence surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave of the epidemic ' , Public Health , vol. 190 , pp. 132-134 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2020.11.014
Publication
Public Health
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2020.11.014
ISSN
0033-3506
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2020 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2020.11.014.
Description
This work was funded by the Scottish Government.
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/26083

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