SARS-CoV-2 serology: Validation of high-throughput chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) platforms and a field study in British Columbia

Sekirov, Inna; Barakauskas, Vilte E.; Simons, Janet; Cook, Darrel; Bates, Brandon; Burns, Laura; Masud, Shazia; Charles, Marthe; McLennan, Meghan; Mak, Annie; Chahil, Navdeep; Vijh, Rohit; Hayden, Althea; Goldfarb, David; Levett, Paul N; Krajden, Mel; Morshed, Muhammad

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing is required for estimating population seroprevalence and vaccine response studies. It may also increase case identification when used as an adjunct to routine molecular testing. We performed a validation study and evaluated the use of automated high-throughput assays in a field study of COVID-19-affected care facilities. METHODS: Six automated assays were assessed: 1) DiaSorin LIAISON(TM) SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG; 2) Abbott ARCHITECT(TM) SARS-CoV-2 IgG; 3) Ortho VITROS(TM) Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Total; 4) VITROS(TM) Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG; 5) Siemens SARS-CoV-2 Total Assay; and 6) Roche Elecsys(TM) Anti-SARS-CoV-2. The validation study included 107 samples (42 known positive; 65 presumed negative). The field study included 296 samples (92 PCR positive; 204 PCR negative or not PCR tested). All samples were tested by the six assays. RESULTS: All assays had sensitivities >90% in the field study, while in the validation study, 5/6 assays were >90% sensitive and DiaSorin was 79% sensitive. Specificities and negative predictive values were >95% for all assays. Field study estimated positive predictive values at 1–10% disease prevalence were 100% for Siemens, Abbott and Roche, while DiaSorin and Ortho assays had lower PPVs at 1% prevalence, but PPVs increased at 5–10% prevalence. In the field study, addition of serology increased diagnoses by 16% compared to PCR testing alone. CONCLUSIONS: All assays evaluated in this study demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for samples collected at least 14 days post-symptom onset, while sensitivity was variable 0–14 days after infection. The addition of serology to the outbreak investigations increased case detection by 16%.