Community seroprevalence of COVID-19 in probable and possible cases at primary health care centres in Spain

Montenegro, Patricia; Brotons, Carlos; Serrano, Jordi; Fernández, Diana; Garcia-Ramos, Carlos; Ichazo, Begoña; Lemaire, Jeannine; Moral, Irene; Wienese, Ricky Pérez; Pitarch, Marc; Puig, Mireia; Vilella, M Teresa; Sellarès, Jaume

BACKGROUND: There is a scarcity of information about patients with mild or moderate symptoms during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This is especially true for those who attended and were followed up at primary care settings. OBJECTIVES: We aim to measure the seroprevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection in a community sample of possible cases and among probable cases followed in primary care. METHODS: We selected a random sample of 600 individuals stratified by age groups from a total population of 19 899 individuals from a community area in Barcelona. We also invited all the patients that had been followed by General Practitioners (GPs). For both populations, we used COVID-19 rapid lateral flow immunoassays, which qualitatively assess the presence of patient-generated Immunoglobulins G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM). RESULTS: Three hundred and eleven asymptomatic individuals from the randomly selected sample participated in the study. The mean age was 43.7 years [standard deviation (SD) = 21.79] and 55% were women. Seventeen individuals were seropositive for IgM and/or IgG, resulting in an overall prevalence of 5.47% (95% confidence interval = 3.44–8.58). Six hundred and thirty-four symptomatic patients were followed up by GPs. The mean age was 46.97 years (SD = 20.05) and 57.73% were women. Of these, 244 patients (38.49%) were seropositive. Results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the odds ratio for a positive test was significantly increased in patients who had fever, ageusia and contact with a patient diagnosed with COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: The seroprevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among possible cases was lower than expected. Approximately, 40% of the symptomatic patients followed up by GPs during the peak months of the pandemic were positive.