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The Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 and Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S antibody assays: Differentiating between vaccination and infection, and assessing long-term performance.

Authors :
Quee FA
Hogema BM
Molier M
Slot E
van den Hurk K
Zaaijer HL
Source :
PloS one [PLoS One] 2024 Jul 18; Vol. 19 (7), pp. e0305613. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 18 (Print Publication: 2024).
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Introduction: Serological surveillance is useful for assessing SARS-CoV-2 immunity in populations. To effectively study the presence and persistence of antibodies, it is necessary to distinguish between persons with past infection, and persons who only received vaccination. Knowledge of the duration of antibody persistence is essential for correct interpretation of surveillance results.<br />Methods: Starting in April 2020, waning of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was studied in a longitudinal cohort study of 495 SARS-CoV-2 antibody-positive Dutch blood donors, not pre-selected by PCR testing or disease severity. Additionally, in May 2021, a sample of donors representative for the Dutch population was tested for antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, using the Wantai Ab ELISA and the Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S assay; and for antibodies against the nucleocapsid protein, which indicate past infection, using the Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay.<br />Results: The anti-S response in donors that were infected in April or May 2020 remained positive in 100% of donors in the Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S assay one year after infection, after which follow up of waning was no longer possible because of large scale vaccination. The anti-nucleocapsid response results were still positive in approximately 80% of donors two years after infection. In May 2021, 51% of the donors showed anti-S reactivity and 16.8% tested positive for anti-nucleocapsid antibodies.<br />Conclusion: Infection with SARS-CoV-2 resulted in spike and nucleocapsid antibody levels still detectable in the majority of donors 1-2 years after infection. In May 2021, 51% of donors were vaccinated and 16.8% had had an infection. Thus, both Elecsys® SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays can be used to reliably assess the vaccination and infection status of individuals.<br />Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.<br /> (Copyright: © 2024 Quee et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1932-6203
Volume :
19
Issue :
7
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
PloS one
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
39024252
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305613