Repeated Leftover Serosurvey of SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibodies in Greece, May to August 2020

A serosurvey of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was conducted in Greece between May and August 2020. It was designed as a cross-sectional survey and was repeated at monthly intervals. The leftover sampling methodology was used and a geographically stratified sampling plan was applied. Of 20,110 se...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zacharoula Bogogiannidou, Matthaios Speletas, Alexandros Vontas, Dimitrios J. Nikoulis, Katerina Dadouli, Maria A. Kyritsi, Varvara A. Mouchtouri, Paraskevi Mina, Lemonia Anagnostopoulos, Michalis Koureas, Vasileios Karavasilis, Olga Nikou, Ourania Pinaka, Pavlos C. Thomaidis, Kornilia Kadoglou, Konstantinos Bedevis, Natalia Spyrou, Alexandros A. Eleftheriou, Vassiliki Papaevangelou, Achilleas Gikas, Alkiviadis Vatopoulos, Evangelia E. Ntzani, Panagiotis Prezerakos, Sotirios Tsiodras, Christos Hadjichristodoulou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
Series:Vaccines
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/5/504
Description
Summary:A serosurvey of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was conducted in Greece between May and August 2020. It was designed as a cross-sectional survey and was repeated at monthly intervals. The leftover sampling methodology was used and a geographically stratified sampling plan was applied. Of 20,110 serum samples collected, 89 (0.44%) were found to be positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, with higher seroprevalence (0.35%) observed in May 2020. The highest seroprevalence was primarily observed in the “30–49” year age group. Females presented higher seroprevalence compared to males in May 2020 (females: 0.58% VS males: 0.10%). This difference reversed during the study period and males presented a higher proportion in August 2020 (females: 0.12% VS males: 0.58%). Differences in the rate of seropositivity between urban areas and the rest of the country were also observed during the study period. The four-month infection fatality rate (IFR) was estimated to be 0.47%, while the respective case fatality rate (CFR) was at 1.89%. Our findings confirm low seroprevalence of COVID-19 in Greece during the study period. The young adults are presented as the most affected age group. The loss of the cumulative effect of seropositivity in a proportion of previous SARS-CoV-2 infections was indicated.
ISSN:2076-393X