Prevalence and Risk Factors of Infection in the Representative COVID-19 Cohort Munich

Michael Pritsch, Katja Radon, Abhishek Bakuli, Ronan Le Gleut, Laura Olbrich, Jessica Michelle Guggenbüehl Noller, Elmar Saathoff, Noemi Castelletti, Mercè Garí, Peter Pütz, Yannik Schälte, Turid Frahnow, Roman Wölfel, Camilla Rothe, Michel Pletschette, Dafni Metaxa, Felix Forster, Verena Thiel, Friedrich Rieß, Maximilian Nikolaus Diefenbach, Günter Fröschl, Jan Bruger, Simon Winter, Jonathan Frese, Kerstin Puchinger, Isabel Brand, Inge Kroidl, Jan Hasenauer, Christiane Fuchs, Andreas Wieser, Michael Hoelscher and on behalf of the KoCo19 study Group
Additional contact information
Michael Pritsch: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Katja Radon: Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
Abhishek Bakuli: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Ronan Le Gleut: Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Laura Olbrich: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Jessica Michelle Guggenbüehl Noller: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Elmar Saathoff: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Noemi Castelletti: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Mercè Garí: Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Peter Pütz: Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Yannik Schälte: Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Turid Frahnow: Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Roman Wölfel: German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Camilla Rothe: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Michel Pletschette: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Dafni Metaxa: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Felix Forster: Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
Verena Thiel: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Friedrich Rieß: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Maximilian Nikolaus Diefenbach: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Günter Fröschl: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Jan Bruger: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Simon Winter: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Jonathan Frese: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Kerstin Puchinger: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Isabel Brand: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Inge Kroidl: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Jan Hasenauer: Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Christiane Fuchs: Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Andreas Wieser: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
Michael Hoelscher: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany
on behalf of the KoCo19 study Group: KoCo19 study group: Emad Alamoudi, Jared Anderson, Valeria Baldassare, Maximilian Baumann, Marc Becker, Marieke Behlen, Jessica Beyerl, Rebecca Böhnlein, Anna Brauer, Vera Britz, Friedrich Caroli, Lorenzo Contento, Alina Czwienzek, Flora Deák, Emma Dech, Laura Dech, Jana Diekmannshemke, Anna Do, Gerhard Dobler, Jürgen Durner, Ute Eberle, Judith Eckstein, Tabea M. Eser, Philine Falk, Volker Fingerle, Stefanie Fischer, Marius Gasser, Sonja Gauder, Otto Geisenberger, Christof Geldmacher, Leonard Gilberg, Kristina Gillig, Philipp Girl, Elias Golschan, Vitus Grauvogl, Celina Halfmann, Tim Haselwarter, Arlett Heiber, Matthias Herrmann, Stefan Hillmann, Christian Hinske, Janna Hoefflin, Tim Hofberger, Michael Höfinger, Larissa Hofmann, Sacha Horn, Kristina Huber, Christian Janke, Ursula Kappl, Charlotte Kiani, Isabel Klugherz, Norah Kreider, Arne Kroidl, Magdalena Lang, Clemens Lang, Silvan Lange, Ekaterina Lapteva, Michael Laxy, Reiner Leidl, Felix Lindner, Alexander Maczka, Alisa Markgraf, Paula Matcau, Rebecca Mayrhofer, Anna-Maria Mekota, Hannah Müller, Katharina Müller, Leonie Pattard, Claire Pleimelding, Stephan Prückner, Konstantin Pusl, Elba Raimúndez, Julius Raschka, Jakob Reich, Raquel Rubio-Acero, Nicole Schäfer, Paul Schandelmaier, Lara Schneider, Sophie Schultz, Mirjam Schunk, Lars Schwettmann, Heidi Seibold, Paul Stapor, Jeni Tang, Fabian Theis, Sophie Thiesbrummel, Eva Thumser, Niklas Thur, Julian Ullrich, Julia Waibel, Claudia Wallrauch, Julia Wolff, Pia Wullinger, Tobias Würfel, Patrick Wustrow, Houda Yaqine, Sabine Zange, Eleftheria Zeggini, Thorbjörn Zimmer, Thomas Zimmermann, Lea Zuche.

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Given the large number of mild or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 cases, only population-based studies can provide reliable estimates of the magnitude of the pandemic. We therefore aimed to assess the sero-prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the Munich general population after the first wave of the pandemic. For this purpose, we drew a representative sample of 2994 private households and invited household members 14 years and older to complete questionnaires and to provide blood samples. SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was defined as Roche N pan-Ig ? 0.4218. We adjusted the prevalence for the sampling design, sensitivity, and specificity. We investigated risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and geospatial transmission patterns by generalized linear mixed models and permutation tests. Seropositivity for SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies was 1.82% (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28–2.37%) as compared to 0.46% PCR-positive cases officially registered in Munich. Loss of the sense of smell or taste was associated with seropositivity (odds ratio (OR) 47.4; 95% CI 7.2–307.0) and infections clustered within households. By this first population-based study on SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in a large German municipality not affected by a superspreading event, we could show that at least one in four cases in private households was reported and known to the health authorities. These results will help authorities to estimate the true burden of disease in the population and to take evidence-based decisions on public health measures.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; population-based cohort study; seroprevalence; infection fatality ratio; underreporting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3572/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3572/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:7:p:3572-:d:526688

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().