Seroprevalence of COVID-19 in HIV Population

Naik, Shivdas Rajaram; Kumar, Swasthi S; Mittal, Ankit; Swain, Satish; Ranjan, Sanjay; Soneja, Manish; Sinha, Sanjeev; Nischal, Neeraj; Jorwal, Pankaj; Chaturvedi, Pradeep K; Wig, Naveet

Backgroundseroprevalence helps us to estimate the exact prevalence of a disease in a population. More than a year since the identification of the disease, it is still not known the exact burden of the disease in the PLHA group. Seroprevalence data in this subset of the population is scarce in most part of the world, including India. The current study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody among people living with HIV/AIDS. AimTo determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in PLHA (People living with HIV/AIDS). DesignThis was an observational prospective cohort study. MethodThis cross-sectional study, conducted at a tertiary care hospital in North India, recruited HIV positive patients following at 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. ResultsA total of 164 patients were recruited in the study with mean age ({+/-}SD) of 41.2 ({+/-}15.4) years and 55% male population. Positive serology against SARS CoV-2 was detected in 14% patients (95% C 9.1-20.3%). ConclusionThe seroprevalence of COVID-19 disease in PLHA was found to be lower than the general population.