Original Research Article
Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in healthcare workers at a tertiary care COVID 19 dedicated hospital in Delhi

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmmb.2021.11.006Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

Amidst the on-going SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, healthcare workers have been at a greater risk of disease exposure as they are working in environments chiefly involved in the COVID-19 patient care since March 2020. SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing can prove to be a valuable tool for better understanding of prevalence of disease exposure in this population. Therefore, we conducted this study to grasp the sero-prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies in our hospital to better comprehend the duration of IgG response.

Methods

This was a longitudinal study involving 305 healthcare workers at Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital spanning over a period of four months starting from October 2020 to January 2021. Serum samples were obtained from the study group taken as Day 0 of the study and were screened for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies using semi-quantitive enzyme linked immunoassay technology from ERBAlisa (India). The Antibody Index was determined. Those showing reactive in the screening test were further followed up on a monthly basis till January 2021 for serial antibody testing.

Results

The overall seroprevalence for IgG response among the workers was found to be 21.96%. Seropositivity rate was observed to be significantly higher in those having a history of RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 infection (45.09%)

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that healthcare workers have a higher sero-prevalence. Our study also demonstrated that the antibodies developed following COVID-19 infection had a waning effect of protective response following infection.

Keywords

COVID-19
Serology
Virology
Immunology
Antibodies

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