Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the community based on participants in the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
OBJECTIVES The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) is a nationwide cross-sectional surveillance system that assesses the health and nutritional status of the Korean population. To evaluate the occurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) inf...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Korean Society of Epidemiology
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Epidemiology and Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.e-epih.org/upload/epih-44-e2022028.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797768324390584320 |
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| author | Ah-Ra Kim Dohsik Minn Su Hwan Kim Hyeon Nam Do Byoungguk Kim Young Sill Choi Dong-Hyun Kim Eun-Jee Oh Kyungwon Oh Donghyok Kwon Jun-Wook Kwon Sung Soon Kim June-Woo Lee |
| author_facet | Ah-Ra Kim Dohsik Minn Su Hwan Kim Hyeon Nam Do Byoungguk Kim Young Sill Choi Dong-Hyun Kim Eun-Jee Oh Kyungwon Oh Donghyok Kwon Jun-Wook Kwon Sung Soon Kim June-Woo Lee |
| author_sort | Ah-Ra Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | OBJECTIVES The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) is a nationwide cross-sectional surveillance system that assesses the health and nutritional status of the Korean population. To evaluate the occurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the community, we investigated the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the sera of KNHANES participants. METHODS Subjects were recruited between April 24 and December 12, 2020. In total, 5,284 subjects aged 10-90 years from 17 regions participated. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were screened using the Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay. Positive samples were verified using 4 different SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays and the plaque reduction neutralizing test. The final seropositivity criteria were a positive screening test and at least 1 positive result from the 5 additional tests. RESULTS Almost half (49.2%; 2,600/5,284) of participants were from metropolitan areas, 48.9% were middle-aged (40-69 years), and 20.5% were in their 20s or younger. The seropositivity rate was 0.09% (5/5,284). Three of the 5 antibody-positive subjects had a history of infection, of whom 2 were infected abroad and 1 was infected in a local cluster outbreak. CONCLUSIONS The low SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in Korea indicates that there have been few coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases due to successful COVID-19 management measures (e.g., diagnostic tests for overseas arrivals, national social distancing, and strict quarantine measures). Moreover, asymptomatic infections were uncommon due to active polymerase chain reaction testing. However, hidden infections may exist in the community, requiring the continuation of quarantine and vaccination measures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T20:52:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d8068f2ad664c5483007c6abaec541b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2092-7193 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T20:52:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Korean Society of Epidemiology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Epidemiology and Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d8068f2ad664c5483007c6abaec541b2023-08-01T00:41:57ZengKorean Society of EpidemiologyEpidemiology and Health2092-71932022-02-014410.4178/epih.e20220281276Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the community based on participants in the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination SurveyAh-Ra Kim0Dohsik Minn1Su Hwan Kim2Hyeon Nam Do3Byoungguk Kim4Young Sill Choi5Dong-Hyun Kim6Eun-Jee Oh7Kyungwon Oh8Donghyok Kwon9Jun-Wook Kwon10Sung Soon Kim11June-Woo Lee12 Division of Vaccine Clinical Research, Center for Vaccine Research, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Cheongju, Korea Medical Director for Diagnostic Immunology, Seegene Medical Foundation, Seoul, Korea Division of Vaccine Clinical Research, Center for Vaccine Research, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Cheongju, Korea Division of Vaccine Clinical Research, Center for Vaccine Research, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Cheongju, Korea Division of Vaccine Clinical Research, Center for Vaccine Research, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Cheongju, Korea Division of Pathogen Resource Management, Center for Vaccine Research, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Cheongju, Korea Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea Division of Public Health Emergency Responses Research, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Korea Division of Public Health Emergency Responses Research, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Korea National Institute of Health (NIH), Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Korea Center for Vaccine Research, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Korea Division of Vaccine Clinical Research, Center for Vaccine Research, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Cheongju, KoreaOBJECTIVES The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) is a nationwide cross-sectional surveillance system that assesses the health and nutritional status of the Korean population. To evaluate the occurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the community, we investigated the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the sera of KNHANES participants. METHODS Subjects were recruited between April 24 and December 12, 2020. In total, 5,284 subjects aged 10-90 years from 17 regions participated. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were screened using the Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay. Positive samples were verified using 4 different SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays and the plaque reduction neutralizing test. The final seropositivity criteria were a positive screening test and at least 1 positive result from the 5 additional tests. RESULTS Almost half (49.2%; 2,600/5,284) of participants were from metropolitan areas, 48.9% were middle-aged (40-69 years), and 20.5% were in their 20s or younger. The seropositivity rate was 0.09% (5/5,284). Three of the 5 antibody-positive subjects had a history of infection, of whom 2 were infected abroad and 1 was infected in a local cluster outbreak. CONCLUSIONS The low SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in Korea indicates that there have been few coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases due to successful COVID-19 management measures (e.g., diagnostic tests for overseas arrivals, national social distancing, and strict quarantine measures). Moreover, asymptomatic infections were uncommon due to active polymerase chain reaction testing. However, hidden infections may exist in the community, requiring the continuation of quarantine and vaccination measures.http://www.e-epih.org/upload/epih-44-e2022028.pdfcovid-19sars-cov-2antibodiesseroprevalencesouth korea |
| spellingShingle | Ah-Ra Kim Dohsik Minn Su Hwan Kim Hyeon Nam Do Byoungguk Kim Young Sill Choi Dong-Hyun Kim Eun-Jee Oh Kyungwon Oh Donghyok Kwon Jun-Wook Kwon Sung Soon Kim June-Woo Lee Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the community based on participants in the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiology and Health covid-19 sars-cov-2 antibodies seroprevalence south korea |
| title | Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the community based on participants in the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey |
| title_full | Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the community based on participants in the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey |
| title_fullStr | Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the community based on participants in the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the community based on participants in the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey |
| title_short | Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the community based on participants in the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey |
| title_sort | seroprevalence of sars cov 2 antibodies in the community based on participants in the 2020 korea national health and nutrition examination survey |
| topic | covid-19 sars-cov-2 antibodies seroprevalence south korea |
| url | http://www.e-epih.org/upload/epih-44-e2022028.pdf |
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