It is the first scientific screening study for this disease conducted among members of the university community in Spain
The study was performed on a sample of 2784 University of Barcelona members obtained in February 2021
The total prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, that is, with positive PCR or serology, was virtually 15%
The University of Barcelona (UB) and the Bellvitge University Hospital (HUB) have released the results of the SARS-CoV-2 infection screening and its seroepidemiology study conducted among the UB community in February 2021. Published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, this is the first scientific COVID-19 screening study in the university environment performed in Spain.
The cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 2,784 UB members. The main results show that the total prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, that is, with positive PCR or positive serology for the detection of antibodies, was 14.9%. IgG against SARS-CoV-2 was observed in 12.8% of participants. Forty-four participants (1.6%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR. None of the participants had SARS-CoV-2-related symptoms at the time of the sample collection.
From the 44 asymptomatic participants who were RT-PCR-positive for SARS-CoV-2, 38 (1.36% of the whole sample) also carried IgG antibodies. Therefore, only six participants were considered to have early infections, which constitutes 0.22% of all participants. “These pre-symptomatic and with likely high viral loads are the potential transmitter profile”, explains Francisco Ciruela, the project coordinator and professor of Pharmacology at the UB.
“The results,” continues the expert, “also show that we are still far from herd immunity. For this reason while waiting for the population to be vaccinated and thus to increase group immunity, it is necessary to focus on identifying and isolating new cases and their contacts, as well as maintaining the usual protocols: hand washing, social distancing and the use of a mask”.
María Ángeles Domínguez, professor of Microbiology at the UB and Head of the Microbiology and Parasitology Service of the HUB, emphasises that six out of the 44 participants with positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR showed the presumptive alpha variant (VOC 202012/01) genotype, first described in the UK in early December 2020. In two out of these six cases, antibody detection was positive, and it was negative in the other four cases. All six participants were detected in February 2021, a period of greater detection of this viral variant in our area.
Regarding prevalence by groups within the UB community: students showed a prevalence of 2.08%, while ASS and FM showed prevalences of 1.0% and 1.52% respectively. There were no SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR-positive participants among the CFM. About seroprevalnce: students showed that of 15.4%, among ASS it was 12.9%, FM had a figure of 9.0%, and it was 11.8% among CFM. Therefore, “the results show that no differences arose by groups within the UB community, nor did we observe differences when the prevalence by sex was estimated”, points out Sebastià Videla, professor of Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy and Therapeutics Unit of the UB, head of Clinical Research in Clinical Trials Unit of the HUB and Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), and first author of the article.
Up to 3243 individuals from the UB community enrolled into the research, but not all of the samples were suitable for the study. At the time of the study, none of the participants were yet vaccinated. Participants answered a brief online epidemiological questionnaire and provided a nasal swab for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) SARS-CoV-2 analysis and a venous blood sample for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody assay.
Samples, collected at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Health Services of the UB Office of Safety, Health and Environment (OSSMA), were processed by the Microbiology Service of the Bellvitge University Hospital. Participants were informed about their results via “La Meva Salut”, a communication channel of the Catalan Government’s Health Department.
“The participation of primary care in this study has been essential to communicate positive PCR results to the participants and give the necessary advice to break the chain of transmission”, notes Marta Sancho, Project Manager of Costa de Ponent Primary Care Board and SARS-CoV-2-positive cases tracing coordinator.
This Project has been supported by Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and is included in the UB Sponsors 2020 https://www.mecenes.ub.edu/
Reference Article
S. Videla, A. Otero, S. Martí-Martí, M. A. Domínguez, N. Fabrellas, M. P. Delgado-Hito, I. Cruz, C. Tebé, T. Vinuesa, F. Ardila, M. Sancho, E. Fernández, M. Figuerola y F. Ciruela. «Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection at the University of Barcelona during the third COVID-19 pandemic wave in Spain». International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126526