Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in a sample of the Lithuanian population-based study in Spring 2023
Martynas Simanavičius,
Indrė Kučinskaitė-Kodzė,
Snieguolė Kaselienė,
Skirmantė Sauliūnė,
Dainius Gudas,
Ligita Jančorienė,
Rūta Jasinskienė,
Astra Vitkauskienė,
Rasa Žūtautienė,
Aurelija Žvirblienė,
Mindaugas Stankūnas
Affiliations
Martynas Simanavičius
Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio al. 7, LT-10257, Vilnius, Lithuania; Corresponding author. Sauletekio al. 7, V225, LT-10257, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Indrė Kučinskaitė-Kodzė
Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio al. 7, LT-10257, Vilnius, Lithuania
Snieguolė Kaselienė
Department of Health Management, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Tilžės g. 18, LT-47181, Kaunas, Lithuania
Skirmantė Sauliūnė
Department of Health Management, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Tilžės g. 18, LT-47181, Kaunas, Lithuania
Dainius Gudas
Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio al. 7, LT-10257, Vilnius, Lithuania
Ligita Jančorienė
Clinic of Infectious Diseases and Dermatovenerology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Čiurlionio g. 21, LT-03101, Vilnius, Lithuania
Rūta Jasinskienė
Faculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Tilžės g. 18, LT-47181, Kaunas, Lithuania
Astra Vitkauskienė
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eivenių g. 2, LT-50161, Kaunas, Lithuania
Rasa Žūtautienė
Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Tilžės g. 18, LT-47181, Kaunas, Lithuania
Aurelija Žvirblienė
Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio al. 7, LT-10257, Vilnius, Lithuania
Mindaugas Stankūnas
Department of Health Management, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Tilžės g. 18, LT-47181, Kaunas, Lithuania
Objectives: Despite positive trends in SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology, seroprevalence surveys remain an important tool for estimating the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) proteins in a sample of the Lithuanian population (N = 517) and evaluate how the pattern of seropositivity correlates with the levels of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. Methods: Study participants (aged 18–88 years) filled in the questionnaire self-reporting their demographic-social variables, health status, and SARS-CoV-2-related status. The anti-S and anti-N IgG levels were estimated using a microarray ELISA test. Results: After several pandemic waves and vaccination campaign, the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG in the analyzed sample was 97.87 % by March–May 2023. We determined the 96.91 % prevalence of anti-S and 58.03 % prevalence of anti-N IgG. The majority of study participants (71.18 %) had hybrid immunity induced by vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection. 20.3 % of study participants were anti-N IgG positive without reporting any previous symptoms or a positive SARS-CoV-2 test. A decline of anti-N IgG positivity within 9 months after infection was observed. Conclusions: This study demonstrates high total seroprevalence in March–May 2023 in all age groups indicating a widely established humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in Lithuania.
