PLoS ONE (Jan 2024)

Characterization of antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 Orf8 from three waves of COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand.

  • Jeeraphong Thanongsaksrikul,
  • Paskorn Sritipsukho,
  • Potjanee Srimanote,
  • Onruedee Khantisitthiporn,
  • Wipawadee Sianglum,
  • Uayporn Pinitchai,
  • Yong Poovorawan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297272
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 19, no. 5
p. e0297272

Abstract

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A dynamic of virus adaptation and a mass vaccination campaign could significantly reduce the severity of clinical manifestations of COVID-19 and transmission. Hence, COVID-19 may become an endemic disease globally. Moreover, mass infection as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed affected the serology of the patients as a result of virus mutation and vaccination. Therefore, a need exists to acquire accurate serological testing to monitor the emergence of new outbreaks of COVID-19 to promptly prevent and control the disease spreading. In this study, the anti-Orf8 antibodies among samples collected in Thailand's first, fourth, and fifth waves of COVID-19 outbreaks compared with pre-epidemic sera were determined by indirect ELISA. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the anti-Orf8 IgG ELISA for COVID-19 samples from the first, fourth, and fifth waves of outbreaks was found to be 100% compared with pre-epidemic sera. However, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the anti-Orf8 IgG ELISA for a larger number of patient samples and controls from the fifth wave of outbreaks which were collected on day 7 and 14 after an RT-PCR positive result were 58.79 and 58.44% and 89.19 and 58.44%, respectively. Our data indicated that some of the controls might have antibodies from natural past infections. Our study highlighted the potential utility of anti-Orf8 IgG antibody testing for seroprevalence surveys but still warrants further investigations.