Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in France: results from nationwide serological surveillance

Stéphane Le Vu (), Gabrielle Jones, François Anna, Thierry Rose, Jean-Baptiste Richard, Sibylle Bernard-Stoecklin, Sophie Goyard, Caroline Demeret, Olivier Helynck, Nicolas Escriou, Marion Gransagne, Stéphane Petres, Corinne Robin, Virgile Monnet, Louise Perrin de Facci, Marie-Noelle Ungeheuer, Lucie Léon, Yvonnick Guillois, Laurent Filleul, Pierre Charneau, Daniel Lévy-Bruhl, Sylvie van der Werf and Harold Noel
Additional contact information
Stéphane Le Vu: Santé publique France
Gabrielle Jones: Santé publique France
François Anna: Theravectys, Institut Pasteur
Thierry Rose: INSERM 1221, Institut Pasteur
Jean-Baptiste Richard: Santé publique France
Sibylle Bernard-Stoecklin: Santé publique France
Sophie Goyard: INSERM 1221, Institut Pasteur
Caroline Demeret: University of Paris-Diderot, Institut Pasteur
Olivier Helynck: Unit of Chemistry and Biocatalysis, UMR 3523 CNRS, Institut Pasteur
Nicolas Escriou: Innovation Laboratory: Vaccines, Institut Pasteur
Marion Gransagne: Innovation Laboratory: Vaccines, Institut Pasteur
Stéphane Petres: Production and Purification of Recombinant Proteins Technological Platform, Institut Pasteur
Corinne Robin: Cerba Healthcare Division, Cerba Xpert
Virgile Monnet: Eurofins Biomnis Sample Library, Eurofins Biomnis
Louise Perrin de Facci: ICAReB Biobanking Platform, Center for Translational Science, Institut Pasteur
Marie-Noelle Ungeheuer: ICAReB Biobanking Platform, Center for Translational Science, Institut Pasteur
Lucie Léon: Regional Office—French Caribbean, Santé publique France
Yvonnick Guillois: Regional Office—Brittany, Santé publique France
Laurent Filleul: Regional Office—Nouvelle Aquitaine, Santé publique France
Pierre Charneau: Theravectys, Institut Pasteur
Daniel Lévy-Bruhl: Santé publique France
Sylvie van der Werf: University of Paris-Diderot, Institut Pasteur
Harold Noel: Santé publique France

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Assessment of the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections is critical for monitoring the course and extent of the COVID-19 epidemic. Here, we report estimated seroprevalence in the French population and the proportion of infected individuals who developed neutralising antibodies at three points throughout the first epidemic wave. Testing 11,000 residual specimens for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and neutralising antibodies, we find nationwide seroprevalence of 0.41% (95% CI: 0.05–0.88) mid-March, 4.14% (95% CI: 3.31–4.99) mid-April and 4.93% (95% CI: 4.02–5.89) mid-May 2020. Approximately 70% of seropositive individuals have detectable neutralising antibodies. Infection fatality rate is 0.84% (95% CI: 0.70–1.03) and increases exponentially with age. These results confirm that the nationwide lockdown substantially curbed transmission and that the vast majority of the French population remained susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 in May 2020. Our study shows the progression of the first epidemic wave and provides a framework to inform the ongoing public health response as viral transmission continues globally.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23233-6

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