Prevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in healthy blood donors in New York

Kamath, K.; Baum-Jones, E.; Jordan, G.; Haynes, W.; Waitz, R.; Shon, J.; Kujawa, S.; Fitzgibbons, L.; Kessler, D.; Luchsinger, L. L.; Yale IMPACT Team,; Daugherty, P.

ABSTRACT Despite the high level of morbidity and mortality worldwide, there is increasing evidence for asymptomatic carriers of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. We analyzed blood specimens from 1,559 healthy blood donors, collected in the greater New York metropolitan area between the months of March and July 2020 for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 virus. Using our proprietary technology, SERA (Serum Epitope Repertoire Analysis), we observed a significant increase in SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity rates over the four-month period, from 0% [95% CI: 0 - 1.5%] (March) to 11.6% [6.0 - 21.2%] (July). Follow-up ELISA tests using S1 and nucleocapsid viral proteins confirmed most of these results. Our findings are consistent with seroprevalence studies within the region and with reports that SARS-COV-2 infections can be asymptomatic or cause only mild symptoms. IMPORTANCE The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has caused vast morbidity and mortality worldwide, yet several studies indicate that there may be a significant number of infected people who are asymptomatic or exhibit mild symptoms. In this study, samples were collected from healthy blood donors in a region of rapidly increasing disease burden (New York metropolitan area) and we hypothesized that a subset would be seropositive to SARS-CoV-2. People who experienced mild or no symptoms during SARS-CoV-2 infection may represent a source for convalescent plasma donors.