ABSTRACT
We studied SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among pregnant women in Norway by including all women who were first trimester pregnant (n=6520), each month from December 2019 through December 2020, in the catchment region of Norway’s second largest hospital. We used sera that had been frozen stored after compulsory testing for syphilis antibodies in antenatal care. The sera were analyzed with the Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay (Roche Diagnostics, Cobas e801). This immunoassay detects IgG/IgM against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen. Sera with equivocal or positive test results were retested with the Liaison® SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG (DiaSorin), which detects IgG against the spike (S)1 and S2 protein on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In total, 98 women (adjusted prevalence 1.7%) had SARS CoV-2 antibodies. The adjusted seroprevalence increased from 0.3% (1/445) in December 2019 to 5.7% (21/418) in December 2020. Out of the 98 seropositive women, 36 (36.7%) had serological signs of current SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of serum sampling, and the incidence remained low during the study period. This study suggests that SARS CoV-2 was present in the first half of December 2019, six weeks before the first case was recognized in Norway. The low occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infection during 2020, may be explained by high compliance to extensive preventive measures implemented early in the epidemic.
Fuente: Epidemiology & Infection
