Deciphering the Longevity and Levels of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Children: A Year-Long Study Highlighting Clinical Phenotypes and Age-Related Variations
Gemma Pons-Tomàs,
Rosa Pino,
Aleix Soler-García,
Cristian Launes,
Irene Martínez-de-Albeniz,
María Ríos-Barnés,
Maria Melé-Casas,
María Hernández-García,
Manuel Monsonís,
Amadeu Gené,
Mariona-F. de-Sevilla,
Juan-José García-García,
Claudia Fortuny,
Victoria Fumadó
Affiliations
Gemma Pons-Tomàs
Paediatric Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Rosa Pino
Paediatric Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Aleix Soler-García
Paediatric Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Cristian Launes
Paediatric Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Irene Martínez-de-Albeniz
Infectious and Imported Diseases Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
María Ríos-Barnés
Infectious Diseases and Microbiome Research Group, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Maria Melé-Casas
Paediatric Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
María Hernández-García
Paediatric Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Manuel Monsonís
Department of Microbiology, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Amadeu Gené
Department of Microbiology, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Mariona-F. de-Sevilla
Paediatric Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Juan-José García-García
Paediatric Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Claudia Fortuny
Infectious Diseases and Microbiome Research Group, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Victoria Fumadó
Infectious Diseases and Microbiome Research Group, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), 08950 Barcelona, Spain
Background: Identifying potential factors correlated with the sustained presence of antibodies in plasma may facilitate improved retrospective diagnoses and aid in the appraisal of pertinent vaccination strategies for various demographic groups. The main objective was to describe the persistence of anti-spike IgG one year after diagnosis in children and analyse its levels in relation to epidemiological and clinical variables. Methods: A prospective, longitudinal, observational study was conducted in a university reference hospital in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona (Spain) (March 2020–May 2021). This study included patients under 18 years of age with SARS-CoV-2 infection (positive PCR or antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2). Clinical and serological follow-up one year after infection was performed. Results: We included 102 patients with a median age of 8.8 years. Anti-spike IgG was positive in 98/102 (96%) 12 months after the infection. There were higher anti-spike IgG levels were noted in patients younger than 2 years (p = 0.034) and those with pneumonia (p p = 0.027). Conclusion: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were detected in almost all paediatric patients one year after infection. We also observed a positive correlation between virus-specific IgG antibody titres with SARS-CoV-2 clinical phenotype (pneumonia) and age (under 2 years old).
