Low awareness of past SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthy plasma donors.
cross_sectional · Level IV
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33681828.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100222 and PMC identifier 7917439.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Awareness of infection with SARS-CoV-2 is crucial for the effectiveness of COVID-19 control measures. Here, we investigate awareness of infection and symptoms in relation to antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in healthy plasma donors. We asked individuals donating plasma across the Netherlands between May 11<sup>th</sup> and 18<sup>th</sup> 2020 to report COVID-19-related symptoms, and we tested for antibodies indicative of a past infection with SARS-CoV-2. Among 3,676 with antibodies, and from questionnaire data, 239 (6.5%) are positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Of those, 48% suspect no COVID-19, despite the majority reporting symptoms; 11% of seropositive individuals report no symptoms and 27% very mild symptoms at any time during the first peak of the epidemic. Anosmia/ageusia and fever are most strongly associated with seropositivity. Almost half of seropositive individuals do not suspect SARS-CoV-2 infection. Improved recognition of COVID-19 symptoms, in particular, anosmia/ageusia and fever, is needed to reduce widespread SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
Medical subject headings
- Blood Donors
- COVID-19