Seroprevalence and silent infection rate during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic among children and adolescents in Western Pomerania: a multicenter, cross-sectional study-the COVIDKID study

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2024-11, Vol.12, p.e18384, Article e18384
• Main Authors: Vollmer, Marcus, Kuthning, Daniela, Gramenz, Jana, Scholz, Arevik, Michael, Robin, Wittmann, Nico, Gesser, Udo, Niesytto, Christian, Vogler, Antje, Tuxhorn, Vanda, Lenschow, Ute, Lange, Anja, Linnemann, Kristina, Lode, Holger, Kaderali, Lars, Meyer-Bahlburg, Almut
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Age groups; Analysis; Antibodies; Antibodies, Neutralizing - blood; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Asymptomatic Infections - epidemiology; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; COVID-19; COVID-19 - blood; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - immunology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease susceptibility; Enzymes; Epidemics; Epidemiology; Ethics; Female; Germany; Germany - epidemiology; Health aspects; Humans; Immunization; Infant; Infections; Infectious Diseases; Male; Nucleocapsids; Pandemic; Pandemics; Participation; Pediatric; Pediatrics; Public Health; Questionnaires; Risk Factors; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - immunology; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Silent infection; Teenagers; Vaccination; Viral antibodies
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.18384

Limited data on SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in rural areas of northern Germany necessitate comprehensive cohort studies. We aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence, silent infection (SI) rates and risk factors for infections among children and adolescents in Western Pomerania from December 2020 to August 2022. In this cross-sectional study, serum or plasma samples from children and adolescents (6 months to 17 years) were collected during routine blood draw. SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies (S1 and nucleocapsid) and their neutralizing capacity were analyzed using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent and neutralization assays. Socio-demographic data and information about SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination were obtained. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infections and SI. A total of 1,131 blood samples were included into the study. Overall, SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was 25.1%, strongly influenced by the pandemic course, predominant virus variants, age and approval of vaccination. SI rate was 5.4% (95%-CI [3.7%-6.8%]) among unvaccinated and undiagnosed children over the entire study period with highest rates among adolescents. Main risk factor despite the time at risk for silent infections was an infected household member (Odds ratio = 9.88, 95%-CI [4.23-22.9],