Ireland, G;
Jeffery-Smith, A;
Zambon, M;
Hoschler, K;
Harris, R;
Poh, J;
Baawuah, F;
Beckmann, J;
Okike, IO;
Ahmad, S;
et al.
Ireland, G; Jeffery-Smith, A; Zambon, M; Hoschler, K; Harris, R; Poh, J; Baawuah, F; Beckmann, J; Okike, IO; Ahmad, S; Garstang, J; Brent, AJ; Brent, B; Aiano, F; Amin-Chowdhury, Z; Letley, L; Jones, SEI; Kall, M; Patel, M; Gopal, R; Borrow, R; Linley, E; Amirthalingam, G; Brown, KE; Ramsay, ME; Ladhani, SN
(2021)
Antibody persistence and neutralising activity in primary school students and staff: Prospective active surveillance, June to December 2020, England.
EClinicalMedicine, 41.
p. 101150.
ISSN 2589-5370
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101150
SGUL Authors: Ladhani, Shamez Nizarali
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Abstract
Background: Prospective, longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 sero-surveillance in schools across England was initiated after the first national lockdown, allowing comparison of child and adult antibody responses over time. Methods: Prospective active serological surveillance in 46 primary schools in England tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies during June, July and December 2020. Samples were tested for nucleocapsid (N) and receptor binding domain (RBD) antibodies, to estimate antibody persistence at least 6 months after infection, and for the correlation of N, RBD and live virus neutralising activity. Findings: In June 2020, 1,344 staff and 835 students were tested. Overall, 11.5% (95%CI: 9.4-13.9) and 11.3% (95%CI: 9.2-13.6; p = 0.88) of students had nucleoprotein and RBD antibodies, compared to 15.6% (95%CI: 13.7-17.6) and 15.3% (95%CI: 13.4-17.3; p = 0.83) of staff. Live virus neutralising activity was detected in 79.8% (n = 71/89) of nucleocapsid and 85.5% (71/83) of RBD antibody positive children. RBD antibodies correlated more strongly with neutralising antibodies (rs=0.7527; p<0.0001) than nucleocapsid antibodies (rs=0.3698; p<0.0001). A median of 24.4 weeks later, 58.2% (107/184) participants had nucleocapsid antibody seroreversion, compared to 20.9% (33/158) for RBD (p<0.001). Similar seroreversion rates were observed between staff and students for nucleocapsid (p = 0.26) and RBD-antibodies (p = 0.43). Nucleocapsid and RBD antibody quantitative results were significantly lower in staff compared to students (p = 0.028 and <0.0001 respectively) at baseline, but not at 24 weeks (p = 0.16 and p = 0.37, respectively). Interpretation: The immune response in children following SARS-CoV-2 infection was robust and sustained (>6 months) but further work is required to understand the extent to which this protects against reinfection.
Item Type: | Article | ||||||||
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Additional Information: | Crown Copyright © 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) | ||||||||
Keywords: | Antibody, SARS-CoV-2, School, School, Antibody, SARS-CoV-2 | ||||||||
SGUL Research Institute / Research Centre: | Academic Structure > Infection and Immunity Research Institute (INII) | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | EClinicalMedicine | ||||||||
ISSN: | 2589-5370 | ||||||||
Language: | eng | ||||||||
Dates: |
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PubMed ID: | 34608455 | ||||||||
Web of Science ID: | WOS:000723040700001 | ||||||||
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URI: | https://openaccess.sgul.ac.uk/id/eprint/113945 | ||||||||
Publisher's version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101150 |
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