Frontiers in Medicine (Jun 2021)

Persisting Antibody Response to SARS-CoV-2 in a Local Austrian Population

  • Dennis Ladage,
  • Dennis Ladage,
  • Dennis Ladage,
  • Delia Rösgen,
  • Delia Rösgen,
  • Clemens Schreiner,
  • Clemens Schreiner,
  • Dorothee Ladage,
  • Christoph Adler,
  • Christoph Adler,
  • Christoph Adler,
  • Oliver Harzer,
  • Oliver Harzer,
  • Ralf J. Braun

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.653630
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused a global pandemic recently. The prevalence and persistence of antibodies following a peak SARS-CoV-2 infection provides insights into the potential for some level of population immunity. In June 2020, we succeeded in testing almost half of the population of an Austrian town with a higher incidence of COVID-19 infection. We performed a follow-up study to reassess the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA and IgG antibodies with 68 participants of the previous study. We found that the prevalence of IgG or IgA antibodies remained remarkably stable, with 84% of our cohort prevailing SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies (only a slight decrease from 93% 4 months before). In most patients with confirmed COVID-19 seroconversion potentially provides immunity to reinfection. Our results suggest a stable antibody response observed for at least 6 months post-infection with implications for developing strategies for testing and protecting the population.

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