Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a healthcare worker cohort utilising the Abbott Alinity® anti-nucleocapsid assay.
<h4>Introduction</h4>Healthcare workers (HCWs) in Ireland bore a particularly high burden of SARS-CoV-2 infections, representing over 30% of infections during initial waves. We describe the prevalence, incidence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid (anti-NC) IgG positivity in...
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0325544 |
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| author | Stephen P Connolly Alejandro Garcia Leon Sandra Green Daragh McGee Paul Duggan Robert Browne Sarah Miles Riya Negi Dana Alalwan Dominick Natin Patrick W Mallon Peter O'Gorman Graham Lee David Green Tara McGinty Aoife G Cotter |
| author_facet | Stephen P Connolly Alejandro Garcia Leon Sandra Green Daragh McGee Paul Duggan Robert Browne Sarah Miles Riya Negi Dana Alalwan Dominick Natin Patrick W Mallon Peter O'Gorman Graham Lee David Green Tara McGinty Aoife G Cotter |
| author_sort | Stephen P Connolly |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Introduction</h4>Healthcare workers (HCWs) in Ireland bore a particularly high burden of SARS-CoV-2 infections, representing over 30% of infections during initial waves. We describe the prevalence, incidence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid (anti-NC) IgG positivity in a cohort of HCWs working in a Dublin inner-city tertiary hospital, over 48 weeks.<h4>Methods</h4>The SORTeD (Seroprevalence, Seroconversion Rates and Transmission Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 among Healthcare Workers) study was a longitudinal cohort study of HCWs working in an inner-city hospital in Dublin between July 2020 and September 2021. Participants had either a prior history of PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (Group 1) or no prior history of SARS-CoV-2 (Group 2). Serum samples were obtained at weeks 0, 12 and 48, and tested for SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (NC) antibody using a qualitative immunoassay (Abbott Alinity®). Seroprevalence rates are presented using descriptive statistics, with univariate and multivariate analysis examining associations between participant characteristics, IgG status and refractive index in Group 1. Data is presented as n (%) or median (interquartile range (IQR)) where appropriate.<h4>Results</h4>Of the 395 HCWs who were recruited, 304 (77.0%) were female, median age was 33 (28-45) years, and 343 (86.8%) had patient-facing roles. In Group 1, time from infection to sampling was 173 (144.0-202.0) days. Seroprevalence of IgG in Group 1 at 0, 12 and 48 weeks was 47.4%, 19.0% and 7.3%, respectively; while seroprevalence in Group 2 was 5.4%, 4.3% and 2.6%, respectively. A lower refractive index was seen in higher sampling intervals (r = -0.5, 95% CI -0.576 to -0.427; p < 0.001). Fourteen incident infections were reported by the cohort during the study, and 3 documented reinfections.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Our study shows low seroprevalence in prior confirmed cases among our HCW population, possibly explained by reduced sensitivity of this assay with increasing time from SARS-CoV-2 exposure and timing of testing. Confirmatory testing with a quantitative assay would help understand the true seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG in this cohort. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f051d65b4e7f45d2b1ef4b9a3f22afad |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
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| spelling | doaj-art-f051d65b4e7f45d2b1ef4b9a3f22afad2025-08-20T02:39:59ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01206e032554410.1371/journal.pone.0325544Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a healthcare worker cohort utilising the Abbott Alinity® anti-nucleocapsid assay.Stephen P ConnollyAlejandro Garcia LeonSandra GreenDaragh McGeePaul DugganRobert BrowneSarah MilesRiya NegiDana AlalwanDominick NatinPatrick W MallonPeter O'GormanGraham LeeDavid GreenTara McGintyAoife G Cotter<h4>Introduction</h4>Healthcare workers (HCWs) in Ireland bore a particularly high burden of SARS-CoV-2 infections, representing over 30% of infections during initial waves. We describe the prevalence, incidence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid (anti-NC) IgG positivity in a cohort of HCWs working in a Dublin inner-city tertiary hospital, over 48 weeks.<h4>Methods</h4>The SORTeD (Seroprevalence, Seroconversion Rates and Transmission Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 among Healthcare Workers) study was a longitudinal cohort study of HCWs working in an inner-city hospital in Dublin between July 2020 and September 2021. Participants had either a prior history of PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (Group 1) or no prior history of SARS-CoV-2 (Group 2). Serum samples were obtained at weeks 0, 12 and 48, and tested for SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (NC) antibody using a qualitative immunoassay (Abbott Alinity®). Seroprevalence rates are presented using descriptive statistics, with univariate and multivariate analysis examining associations between participant characteristics, IgG status and refractive index in Group 1. Data is presented as n (%) or median (interquartile range (IQR)) where appropriate.<h4>Results</h4>Of the 395 HCWs who were recruited, 304 (77.0%) were female, median age was 33 (28-45) years, and 343 (86.8%) had patient-facing roles. In Group 1, time from infection to sampling was 173 (144.0-202.0) days. Seroprevalence of IgG in Group 1 at 0, 12 and 48 weeks was 47.4%, 19.0% and 7.3%, respectively; while seroprevalence in Group 2 was 5.4%, 4.3% and 2.6%, respectively. A lower refractive index was seen in higher sampling intervals (r = -0.5, 95% CI -0.576 to -0.427; p < 0.001). Fourteen incident infections were reported by the cohort during the study, and 3 documented reinfections.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Our study shows low seroprevalence in prior confirmed cases among our HCW population, possibly explained by reduced sensitivity of this assay with increasing time from SARS-CoV-2 exposure and timing of testing. Confirmatory testing with a quantitative assay would help understand the true seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG in this cohort.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0325544 |
| spellingShingle | Stephen P Connolly Alejandro Garcia Leon Sandra Green Daragh McGee Paul Duggan Robert Browne Sarah Miles Riya Negi Dana Alalwan Dominick Natin Patrick W Mallon Peter O'Gorman Graham Lee David Green Tara McGinty Aoife G Cotter Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a healthcare worker cohort utilising the Abbott Alinity® anti-nucleocapsid assay. PLoS ONE |
| title | Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a healthcare worker cohort utilising the Abbott Alinity® anti-nucleocapsid assay. |
| title_full | Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a healthcare worker cohort utilising the Abbott Alinity® anti-nucleocapsid assay. |
| title_fullStr | Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a healthcare worker cohort utilising the Abbott Alinity® anti-nucleocapsid assay. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a healthcare worker cohort utilising the Abbott Alinity® anti-nucleocapsid assay. |
| title_short | Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a healthcare worker cohort utilising the Abbott Alinity® anti-nucleocapsid assay. |
| title_sort | longitudinal sars cov 2 antibody response in a healthcare worker cohort utilising the abbott alinity r anti nucleocapsid assay |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0325544 |
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