Antibody Response to SARS-CoV-2 among COVID-19 Confirmed Cases and Correlates with Neutralizing Assay in a Subgroup of Patients in Delhi National Capital Region, India
Puneet Misra,
Shashi Kant,
Randeep Guleria,
Sanjay K. Rai,
Abhishek Jaiswal,
Suprakash Mandal,
Guruprasad R. Medigeshi,
Mohammad Ahmad,
Anisur Rahman,
Meenu Sangral,
Kapil Yadav,
Mohan Bairwa,
Partha Haldar,
Parveen Kumar
Affiliations
Puneet Misra
Centre for Community Medicine, Old OT-Block, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Shashi Kant
Centre for Community Medicine, Old OT-Block, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Randeep Guleria
Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Sanjay K. Rai
Centre for Community Medicine, Old OT-Block, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Abhishek Jaiswal
Centre for Community Medicine, Old OT-Block, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Suprakash Mandal
Centre for Community Medicine, Old OT-Block, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Guruprasad R. Medigeshi
Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad 121001, India
Mohammad Ahmad
WHO Country Office, New Delhi 110011, India
Anisur Rahman
WHO Country Office, New Delhi 110011, India
Meenu Sangral
Centre for Community Medicine, Old OT-Block, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Kapil Yadav
Centre for Community Medicine, Old OT-Block, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Mohan Bairwa
Centre for Community Medicine, Old OT-Block, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Partha Haldar
Centre for Community Medicine, Old OT-Block, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029, India
Parveen Kumar
Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad 121001, India
Background: The plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) is the gold standard to detect the neutralizing capacity of serum antibodies. Neutralizing antibodies confer protection against further infection. The present study measured the antibody level against SARS-CoV-2 among laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases and evaluated whether the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies indicates virus neutralizing capacity. Methods: One hundred COVID-19 confirmed cases were recruited. Their sociodemographic details and history of COVID-19 vaccination, contact with positive COVID-19 cases, and symptoms were ascertained using a self-developed semi-structured interview schedule. Serum samples of the participants were collected within three months from the date of the positive report of COVID-19. The presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgA, IgG and IgM antibodies), receptor binding domain antibodies (anti-RBD), and neutralizing antibodies were measured. Findings: Almost all the participants had anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgA, IgG and IgM) (99%) and anti-RBD IgG antibodies (97%). However, only 69% had neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Anti-RBD antibody levels were significantly higher among participants having neutralizing antibodies compared with those who did not. Interpretation: The present study highlights that the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, or the presence of anti-RBD antibodies does not necessarily imply the presence of neutralizing antibodies.
