Seroprevalence of COVID-19 in HIV Population

  1. Shivdas Rajaram Naik
  2. Swasthi S Kumar
  3. Ankit Mittal
  4. Satish Swain
  5. Sanjay Ranjan
  6. Manish Soneja
  7. Sanjeev Sinha
  8. Neeraj Nischal
  9. Pankaj Jorwal
  10. Pradeep Chaturvedi
  11. Naveet Wig

Reviewed by

Read the full article

Listed in

Log in to save this article

Abstract

Background

Seroprevalence helps us to estimate the exact prevalence of a disease in a population. Although the world has been battling this pandemic for more than a year now, we still do not know about the burden of this disease in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). Seroprevalence data in this population subset is scarce in most parts of the world, including India. The current study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody among PLHA.

Aim

To determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in PLHA.

Method

This was a cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in North India. We recruited HIV positive patients following at the ART centre of the institute. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody levels targeting recombinant spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) protein of SARS CoV-2 were estimated in serum sample by the chemiluminescent immunoassay method.

Results

A total of 164 patients were recruited in the study with a mean age (±SD) of 41.2 (±15.4) years, of which 55% were male. Positive serology against SARS CoV-2 was detected in 14% patients (95% CI: 9.1-20.3%).

Conclusion

The seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in PLHA was lower than the general population in the same region, which ranged from 23.48% to 28.3% around the study period.

Article activity feed

  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.06.17.21259066: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsField Sample Permit: The Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) clinic works under the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), an initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India’s Government.
    Consent: Informed consent was obtained before the enrolment in the study.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Cell Line AuthenticationAuthentication: 2 ml Serum was drawn, and the samples were tested for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2using the Abbott Architect i4000SR (Abbott Diagnostics, Chicago, USA), which have been validated for use in adults (7).

    Table 2: Resources

    Antibodies
    SentencesResources
    Statistical Analysis: Variables including sex, age, symptomatology, the regime of ART and SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence were analyzed using descriptive statistics (number and proportion for discrete variables, mean and SD for continuous variables).
    SARS-CoV-2
    suggested: None
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    2 ml Serum was drawn, and the samples were tested for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2using the Abbott Architect i4000SR (Abbott Diagnostics, Chicago, USA), which have been validated for use in adults (7).
    Abbott Architect
    suggested: (Abbott ARCHITECT i1000sr System, RRID:SCR_019328)
    The Abbott assay is highly specific for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, using the manufacturer’s suggested cut-offs, with specificities of 1.00 (95% CI 0.98 to 1.00) and sensitivities at 0.94 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.98).
    Abbott
    suggested: (Abbott, RRID:SCR_010477)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    There were limitations to the study. As it was a single centre-based study, it may not be an accurate representation of this subgroup. There were a smaller number of patients who were naïve or on ART regimens other than TLE (tenofovir, lamivudine, efavirenz) and ZLN (zidovudine, lamivudine, nevirapine) combination. Also, since anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels are known to wane over a few months, some cases might have been inadvertently missed in this cross-sectional study (19). Also, the possibility of false results, as seen with any other antibody-based test, cannot be ruled out.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. Version published to 10.1101/2021.06.17.21259066v2 on medRxiv
  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.06.17.21259066v1 on medRxiv