1.Korea Seroprevalence Study of Monitoring of SARS-COV-2 Antibody Retention and Transmission (K-SEROSMART): findings from national representative sample
Jina HAN ; Hye Jin BAEK ; Eunbi NOH ; Kyuhyun YOON ; Jung Ae KIM ; Sukhyun RYU ; Kay O LEE ; No Yai PARK ; Eunok JUNG ; Sangil KIM ; Hyukmin LEE ; Yoo-Sung HWANG ; Jaehun JUNG ; Hun Jae LEE ; Sung-il CHO ; Sangcheol OH ; Migyeong KIM ; Chang-Mo OH ; Byengchul YU ; Young-Seoub HONG ; Keonyeop KIM ; Sunjae JUNG ; Mi Ah HAN ; Moo-Sik LEE ; Jung-Jeung LEE ; Young HWANGBO ; Hyeon Woo YIM ; Yu-Mi KIM ; Joongyub LEE ; Weon-Young LEE ; Jae-Hyun PARK ; Sungsoo OH ; Heui Sug JO ; Hyeongsu KIM ; Gilwon KANG ; Hae-Sung NAM ; Ju-Hyung LEE ; Gyung-Jae OH ; Min-Ho SHIN ; Soyeon RYU ; Tae-Yoon HWANG ; Soon-Woo PARK ; Sang Kyu KIM ; Roma SEOL ; Ki-Soo PARK ; Su Young KIM ; Jun-wook KWON ; Sung Soon KIM ; Byoungguk KIM ; June-Woo LEE ; Eun Young JANG ; Ah-Ra KIM ; Jeonghyun NAM ; ; Soon Young LEE ; Dong-Hyun KIM
Epidemiology and Health 2023;45(1):e2023075-
OBJECTIVES:
We estimated the population prevalence of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), including unreported infections, through a Korea Seroprevalence Study of Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Retention and Transmission (K-SEROSMART) in 258 communities throughout Korea.
METHODS:
In August 2022, a survey was conducted among 10,000 household members aged 5 years and older, in households selected through two stage probability random sampling. During face-to-face household interviews, participants self-reported their health status, COVID-19 diagnosis and vaccination history, and general characteristics. Subsequently, participants visited a community health center or medical clinic for blood sampling. Blood samples were analyzed for the presence of antibodies to spike proteins (anti-S) and antibodies to nucleocapsid proteins (anti-N) SARS-CoV-2 proteins using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. To estimate the population prevalence, the PROC SURVEYMEANS statistical procedure was employed, with weighting to reflect demographic data from July 2022.
RESULTS:
In total, 9,945 individuals from 5,041 households were surveyed across 258 communities, representing all basic local governments in Korea. The overall population-adjusted prevalence rates of anti-S and anti-N were 97.6% and 57.1%, respectively. Since the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has reported a cumulative incidence of confirmed cases of 37.8% through July 31, 2022, the proportion of unreported infections among all COVID-19 infection was suggested to be 33.9%.
CONCLUSIONS
The K-SEROSMART represents the first nationwide, community-based seroepidemiologic survey of COVID-19, confirming that most individuals possess antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and that a significant number of unreported cases existed. Furthermore, this study lays the foundation for a surveillance system to continuously monitor transmission at the community level and the response to COVID-19.
Result Analysis
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