Serological survey of SARS-CoV-2 incidence conducted at a rural West Virginia hospital

  1. Alexander M. Horspool
  2. Brynnan P. Russ
  3. M. Allison Wolf
  4. Jason Kang
  5. Catherine B. Blackwood
  6. Jesse M. Hall
  7. Ting Y. Wong
  8. Megan A. DeJong
  9. Graham Bitzer
  10. Justin R. Bevere
  11. Robert Eggleston
  12. Anita Stewart
  13. Lisa Costello
  14. Shelley Welch
  15. Theodore Kieffer
  16. Sally Hodder
  17. F. Heath Damron

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Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has affected all types of global communities. Differences in urban and rural environments have led to varying levels of transmission within these subsets of the population. To fully understand the prevalence and impact of SARS-CoV-2 it is critical to survey both types of community. This study establishes the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in a rural community: Montgomery, West Virginia. Approximately 10% of participants exhibited serological or PCR-based results indicating exposure to SARS-CoV-2 within 6 months of the sampling date. Quantitative analysis of IgG levels against SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) was used to stratify individuals based on antibody response to SARS-CoV-2. A significant negative correlation between date of exposure and degree of anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG (R 2 = 0.9006) was discovered in addition to a correlation between neutralizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (R 2 = 0.8880) and days post exposure. Participants were confirmed to have normal immunogenic profiles by determining serum reactivity B. pertussis antigens commonly used in standardized vaccines. No significant associations were determined between anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG and age or biological sex. Reporting of viral-like illness symptoms was similar in SARS-CoV-2 exposed participants greater than 30 years old (100% reporting symptoms 30-60 years old, 75% reporting symptoms >60 years old) in contrast to participants under 30 years old (25% reporting symptoms). Overall, this axnalysis of a rural population provides important information about the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in small rural communities. The study also underscores the fact that prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 results in antibody responses that wane over time which highlights the need for vaccine mediated protection in the absence of lasting protection.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.08.16.21262128: (What is this?)

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

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsConsent: After reviewing the informed consent document with any questions answered by onsite study personnel, those desiring to participate in the study signed the informed consent document.
    Field Sample Permit: Blood was collected into Tiger-top blood tubes, and specimens were centrifugated at 3500rpm for 15 minutes (Hettich Rotina-380) and then transported on dry ice to the WVU Vaccine Development center.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Antibodies
    SentencesResources
    Secondary antibody (100µL of 1:500 goat-anti-human IgG HRP Invitrogen Part #: 31410) was then added to each well.
    goat-anti-human IgG
    suggested: None
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Samples were run simultaneously on the Abbott Architect system as a commercial qualitative comparison of serological results.
    Abbott Architect
    suggested: (Abbott ARCHITECT i1000sr System, RRID:SCR_019328)
    Median fluorescent intensity values were plotted against serum dilution factor, and a sigmoidal regression line was fitted to the data using GraphPad Prism.
    GraphPad Prism
    suggested: (GraphPad Prism, RRID:SCR_002798)

    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: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We found bar graphs of continuous data. We recommend replacing bar graphs with more informative graphics, as many different datasets can lead to the same bar graph. The actual data may suggest different conclusions from the summary statistics. For more information, please see Weissgerber et al (2015).

    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 10.1101/2021.08.16.21262128v1 on medRxiv