Evaluation of serological assays for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing from dried blood spots collected from cohorts with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection

Beth Catlett; Mitchell Starr; Dorothy A Machalek; Thidarat Danwilai; Michael Palmer; Andrew Kelly; John Kaldor; Gregory J Dore; David Darley; Gail Matthews; Philip H. Cunningham

Journal of Clinical Virology Plus (Aug 2022)

Evaluation of serological assays for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing from dried blood spots collected from cohorts with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection

Beth Catlett,
Mitchell Starr,
Dorothy A Machalek,
Thidarat Danwilai,
Michael Palmer,
Andrew Kelly,
John Kaldor,
Gregory J Dore,
David Darley,
Gail Matthews,
Philip H. Cunningham

Affiliations

Beth Catlett: NSW State Reference Laboratory for HIV, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Corresponding authors: NSW State Reference Laboratory for HIV, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Phone: +61-2-8382 4900, Fax: +61-2-8382-4249.
Mitchell Starr: NSW State Reference Laboratory for HIV, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Corresponding authors: NSW State Reference Laboratory for HIV, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Phone: +61-2-8382 4900, Fax: +61-2-8382-4249.
Dorothy A Machalek: The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Centre for Women's Infectious Diseases, The Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
Thidarat Danwilai: NSW State Reference Laboratory for HIV, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Michael Palmer: NSW State Reference Laboratory for HIV, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Andrew Kelly: NSW State Reference Laboratory for HIV, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
John Kaldor: The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Gregory J Dore: The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
David Darley: St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Department of Thoracic Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; UNSW Medicine, St Vincent's Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Australia
Gail Matthews: The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Philip H. Cunningham: NSW State Reference Laboratory for HIV, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 2, no. 3
p. 100093

Abstract

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Background: Dried blood spot (DBS) specimens are a useful serosurveillance tool particularly in hard-to-reach populations but their application for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection is poorly characterised. Objectives: To compare detection of naturally acquired SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in paired DBS and serum specimens using commercially available serological immunoassays. Study Design: Specimens were collected through St Vincent's Hospital observational post COVID-19 cohort study (ADAPT). Laboratory spotted DBS from venepuncture were initially tested on seven assays, a DBS validation completed on three with clinically collected fingerstick DBSs tested on one. Results: Sensitivity for Euroimmun nucleocapsid (NCP) IgG ELISA from laboratory spotted DBS (n=145), Euroimmun spike, IgG ELISA from laboratory spotted DBS (n=161), and Binding Site total antibody ELISA from clinically collected fingerstick DBS (n=391) was 100% (95% CI: 95.8-100%), 100% (95% CI: 95.8-100%) and 92.9% (95% CI: 89.5-95.5%), respectively. Specificity was 66.2% (95% CI: 53.6-77.0%), 96% (95% CI: 88.7-99.1%) and 98.8% (95% CI: 93.3-99.9%), respectively. All three assays’ results displayed a strong positive correlation between DBS compared to paired serum. Conclusions: The Binding Site™ spike total antibody and Euroimmun™ spike IgG ELISAs provided good analytical performance, demonstrating that DBS specimens could facilitate specimen collection in the epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is highly applicable in populations and settings where venepuncture is problematic (including community based regional/remote settings, nursing homes, prisons, and schools).

Published in Journal of Clinical Virology Plus

ISSN: 2667-0380 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Infectious and parasitic diseases
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-clinical-virology-plus

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