Seroprevalence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Following the Omicron BA.1 Wave

Maja Socan (), Katarina Prosenc and Maja Mrzel
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Maja Socan: National Institute of Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Katarina Prosenc: National Laboratory for Health, Food and Environment, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Maja Mrzel: National Institute of Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: We conducted a seroprevalence study using convenient residual sera samples from the Slovenian population collected after the end of the Omicron BA.1 pandemic wave. Serum samples were tested for spike glycoprotein (anti-S) and nucleocapsid protein (anti-N) antibodies. Participants’ data regarding confirmed infection and vaccination was obtained from national registries. Anti-S antibodies were detected in 2439 (84.1%) of 2899 sera from persons aged 0–90 years, with the lowest prevalence in the 0–17 age group. The proportion of anti-N positives was the lowest in the ≥70 age group. The proportion of anti-N positives was significantly higher among participants with confirmed past infection and among those who had never been vaccinated. In participants who had not been notified as infected and who had never been vaccinated, the seroprevalence of anti-S and anti-N antibodies was 53% and 35.5%, respectively. From the time of serum collection to mid-November 2022, 445 participants (15.3%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, with higher odds in seronegative participants, participants in the 40–59 age group, and those without notified previous infection. Vaccination status and gender had no significant effects on infection risk. This study underlines the importance of serosurveys in understanding the development of the pandemic.

Keywords: seroprevalence; Omicron BA.1; COVID-19; anti-nucleocapsid protein antibodies; anti-spike glycoprotein antibodies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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