Lack of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in a large cohort of previously infected persons

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Clin Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Petersen, Lyle R ; Sami, Samira ; Vuong, Nga ; Pathela, Preeti ; Weiss, Don ; Morgenthau, Beth Maldin ; Henseler, Rebecca A ; Daskalakis, Demetre C ; Atas, Jenny ; Patel, Anita ; Lukacs, Susan ; Mackey, Lisa ; Grohskopf, Lisa A ; Thornburg, Natalie ; Akinbami, Lara J
• Description:
  Background
  
  Reports suggest that some persons previously infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lack detectable IgG antibodies. We aimed to determine the proportion IgG seronegative and predictors for seronegativity among persons previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.
  
  Methods
  
  We analyzed serologic data collected from health care workers and first responders in New York City and the Detroit metropolitan area with history of a positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result and who were tested for IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein at least 2 weeks after symptom onset.
  
  Results
  
  Of 2,547 persons with previous confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, 160 (6.3%) were seronegative. Of 2,112 previously symptomatic persons, the proportion seronegative slightly increased from 14 to 90 days post symptom onset (p=0.06). The proportion seronegative ranged from 0% among 79 persons previously hospitalized to 11.0% among 308 persons with asymptomatic infections. In a multivariable model, persons taking immunosuppressive medications were more likely to be seronegative (31.9%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.7%-64.7%), while participants of non-Hispanic Black race/ethnicity (versus non-Hispanic White) (2.7%, 95% CI 1.5%-4.8%), with severe obesity (versus under/normal weight) (3.9%, 95% CI 1.7%-8.6%), or with more symptoms were less likely to be seronegative.
  
  Conclusions
  
  In our population with previous RT-PCR confirmed infection, approximately one in 16 persons lacked IgG antibodies. Absence of antibodies varied independently by illness severity, race/ethnicity, obesity, and immunosuppressive drug therapy. The proportion seronegative remained relatively stable among persons tested up to 90 days post symptom onset.
  
  
• Subjects:
  AcademicSubjects/MED00290 Major Article
• Source:
  Clin Infect Dis. 2020;
• Pubmed ID:
  33147319
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC7665429
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:9d8ed57891c7219401b75940b0415c918fd0ab2703901c730f9ad379684640c1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/97657/cdc_97657_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 568.41 KB ]