IgG Seroprevalence of COVID-19 among Individuals without a History of the Coronavirus Disease Infection in Daegu, Korea.
J Korean Med Sci
; 35(29): e269, 2020 Jul 27.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32715672
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Seroprevalence studies of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from many countries have shown that the number of undiagnosed missing cases is much larger than that of confirmed cases, irrespective of seroprevalence levels. Considering the strategy of Korea entailing massive testing and contact tracing from the beginning of epidemic, the number of undiagnosed missing cases in Korea may be negligible. This study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of COVID-19 among individuals who were never diagnosed with COVID-19 in Daegu, the epicenter of COVID-19 epidemic in Korea.METHODS:
Serologic testing for immunoglobulin G antibody based on immunochromatographic assay was conducted in 103 patients and 95 guardians aged 18 to 82 years without any history of COVID-19 diagnosis, who visited outpatient clinics of a single university-affiliated hospital from May 25 to June 5, 2020.RESULTS:
The estimated seroprevalence was 7.6% (95% confidence interval, 4.3%-12.2%) with 15 positive cases. Among them, only one had a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed case among their close contacts and 13 did not experience COVID-19-related symptoms. Seroprevalence was similar between patients and guardians. Based on this figure, the number of undiagnosed missing cases in Daegu was estimated to be a dozen times more than the number of confirmed cases based on PCR testing.CONCLUSION:
Despite the limitation of a small and unrepresentative sample, this is the first study on seroprevalence of COVID-19 in Korea. Our study suggested that the number of undiagnosed missing cases was substantial even with the stringent strategy adopted in Korea, similar to that of other countries.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Neumonía Viral
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Inmunoglobulina G
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Estudios Seroepidemiológicos
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Infecciones por Coronavirus
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Enfermedades no Diagnosticadas
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Anticuerpos Antivirales
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Screening_studies
Límite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Aged
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Aged80
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Korean Med Sci
Asunto de la revista:
MEDICINA
Año:
2020
Tipo del documento:
Article