Estimated Community Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies — Two Georgia Counties, April 28–May 3, 2020

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Biggs, Holly M. ; Harris, Jennifer B. ; Breakwell, Lucy ; Dahlgren, F. Scott ; Abedi, Glen R. ; Szablewski, Christine M. ; Drobeniuc, Jan ; Bustamante, Nirma D. ; Almendares, Olivia ; Schnall, Amy H. ; Gilani, Zunera ; Smith, Tiffany ; Gieraltowski, Laura ; Johnson, Jeffrey A. ; Bajema, Kristina L. ; McDavid, Kelsey ; Schafer, Ilana J. ; Sullivan, Vickie ; Punkova, Lili ; Tejada-Strop, Alexandra ; Amiling, Raiza ; Mattison, Claire P. ; Cortese, Margaret M. ; Ford, S. Elizabeth ; Paxton, Lynn A. ; Drenzek, Cherie ; Tate, Jacqueline E. ; Brown, Nicole ; Chang, Karen T. ; Deputy, Nicholas P. ; Desamu-Thorpe, Rodel ; Gorishek, Chase ; Hanchey, Arianna ; Melgar, Michael ; Monroe, Benjamin P. ; Nielsen, Carrie F. ; Pellegrini, Gerald J. ; Shamout, Mays ; Tison, Laura I. ; Vagi, Sara ; Zacks, Rachael
• Corporate Authors:
  CDC Field Surveyor Team
• Description:
  Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the Virus that causes coronaVirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is ongoing in many communities throughout the United States Although case-based and syndromic Surveillance are critical for monitoring the pandemic, these systems rely on persons obtaining tTesting or reporting a COVID-19-like illness. Using serologic tests to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies is an adjunctive strategy that estimates the prevalence of past infection in a population. During April 28-May 3, 2020, coinciding with the end of a statewide shelter-in-place order, CDC and the Georgia Department of Public Health conducted a serologic survey in DeKalb and Fulton counties in metropolitan Atlanta to estimate SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in the population. A two-stage cluster sampling design was used to randomly select 30 census blocks in each county, with a target of seven participating households per census block. Weighted estimates were calculated to account for the probability of selection and adjusted for age group, sex, and race/ethnicity. A total of 394 households and 696 persons participated and had a serology result; 19 (2.7%) of 696 persons had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies detected. The estimated weighted seroprevalence across these two metropolitan Atlanta counties was 2.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.4-4.5). Non-Hispanic black participants more commonly had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies than did participants of other racial/ethnic groups (p<0.01). Among persons with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, 13 (weighted % = 49.9; 95% CI = 24.4-75.5) reported a COVID-19-compatible illness,* six (weighted % = 28.2; 95% CI = 11.9-53.3) sought medical care for a COVID-19-compatible illness, and five (weighted % = 15.7; 95% CI = 5.1-39.4) had been tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection, demonstrating that many of these infections would not have been identified through case-based or syndromic Surveillance. The relatively low seroprevalence estimate in this report indicates that most persons in the catchment area had not been infected with SARS-CoV-2 at the time of the survey. Continued preventive measures, including social distancing, consistent and correct use of face coverings, and hand hygiene, remain critical in controlling community spread of SARS-CoV-2.
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Aged Antibodies, Viral BetacoronaVirus Child Child, Preschool Clinical Laboratory Techniques CoronaVirus Infections COVID-19 Female Humans Infant Infant, Newborn Male Middle Aged Public Health Surveillance Residence Characteristics Young Adult

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• Source:
  MMWR Morbidity Mortal Weekly Rep. 69(29):965-970
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Pubmed ID:
  32701941
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC7377817
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia
• Pages in Document:
  6 pdf pages
• Volume:
  69
• Issue:
  29
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:425af2f68b7ae228dc4e3ebed51620477657093a692090e3f0575070c0b3c009bba91703dd5226feaca5045ac84533bd7db5c210bc3c8258568e6ae4e30c06d9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/91779/cdc_91779_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 121.38 KB ]