Copyright
©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Serological surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among students, faculty and staff within a large university system during the pandemic
Marcos G Pinheiro, Gabriela G O Alves, Maria Eduarda R Conde, Sofia L Costa, Regina C S Sant’Anna, Isa M F Antunes, Mônica C Carneiro, Fabio S Ronzei, Julia C Scaffo, Felipe R Pinheiro, Lialyz S Andre, Helvecio C Povoa, Valéria T Baltar, Fabíola Giordani, Eduarda S Hemerly, Gisele C Alexandre, Karla C de Paula, Márcio Watanabe, Antonio Claudio L da Nóbrega, Jackeline Christiane P Lobato, Fabio Aguiar-Alves
Marcos G Pinheiro, Gabriela G O Alves, Maria Eduarda R Conde, Sofia L Costa, Regina C S Sant’Anna, Isa M F Antunes, Julia C Scaffo, Felipe R Pinheiro, Lialyz S Andre, Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology and Biotechnology, Rodolpho Albino University Laboratory, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói 24241000, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Marcos G Pinheiro, Mônica C Carneiro, Fabio S Ronzei, Estácio de Sá University, Nova Friburgo 28611135, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Marcos G Pinheiro, Felipe R Pinheiro, Lialyz S Andre, Fabio Aguiar-Alves, Pathology Program, Medicine school, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói 24070090, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Gabriela G O Alves, Fabio Aguiar-Alves, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy, Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL 33401, United States
Helvecio C Povoa, Fabíola Giordani, Health Institute of Nova Friburgo, Fluminense Federal University, Nova Friburgo 28613001, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Valéria T Baltar, Eduarda S Hemerly, Gisele C Alexandre, Jackeline Christiane P Lobato, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Collective Health (ISC), Fluminense Federal University, Niterói 24033900, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Karla C de Paula, Institute of Physical Education, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói 24020005, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Márcio Watanabe, Department of Statistics, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói 24210200, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Antonio Claudio L da Nóbrega, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói 24210130, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Co-corresponding authors: Jackeline Christiane P Lobato and Fabio Aguiar-Alves.
Author contributions: Pinheiro MG, Nóbrega ACLD, Lobato JCP, and Aguiar-Alves F conceptualized and supervised the study; Nóbrega ACLD, Lobato JCP, and Aguiar-Alves F were involved in funding acquisition, resources and project administration; Baltar VT and Giordani F were involved in statistical analysis; Pinheiro MG, Alves GGO, Povoa HC, Hemerly ES, Alexandre GC, de Paula KC, Watanabe M, Lobato JCP, and Aguiar-Alves F were involved in data curation and formal analysis in this study; Pinheiro MG, Alves GGO, Conde MER, Costa SL, Sant’Anna RCS, Antunes IMF, Carneiro MC, Ronzei FS, Scaffo JC, Pinheiro FR, Andre LS, Povoa HC, Baltar VT, Giordani F, Hemerly ES, Alexandre GC, de Paula KC, Watanabe M, Nóbrega ACLD, Lobato JCP, and Aguiar-Alves F were involved developing the methodology, writing, validation, investigation and visualization of the study; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Supported by The Fluminense Federal University.
Institutional review board statement: The study protocol received approval from the Appropriate Ethics Committee of the Medicine University–Fluminense Federal University. Prior to participating, all individuals provided informed consent. Throughout the study, patient information was handled with strict confidentiality and privacy.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from all participants before they were enrolled in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Data sharing statement: Consent was obtained from all participants prior to their inclusion in the study. Patient information was handled with strict confidentiality and privacy throughout the entire process. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:
https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Corresponding author: Fabio Aguiar-Alves, DSc, MSc, PharmD, Associate Professor, Depart
ment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy, Palm Beach Atlantic University, 901 S Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL 33401, United States.
fabio_aguiaralves@pba.edu
Received: August 20, 2024
Revised: September 30, 2024
Accepted: November 1, 2024
Published online: March 25, 2025
Processing time: 99 Days and 6 Hours
BACKGROUND
At the end of December 2019, the world faced severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which led to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), associated with respiratory issues. This virus has shown significant challenges, especially for senior citizens, patients with other underlying illnesses, or those with a sedentary lifestyle. Serological tests conducted early on have helped identify how the virus is transmitted and how to curb its spread. The study hypothesis was that the rapid serological test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies could indicate the immunoreactive profile during the COVID-19 pandemic in a university population.
AIM
To conduct active surveillance for serological expression of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in individuals within a university setting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS
This sectional study by convenience sampling was conducted in a large university in Niteroi-RJ, Brazil, from March 2021 to July 2021. The study population consisted of students, faculty, and administrative staff employed by the university. A total of 3433 faculty members, 60703 students, and 3812 administrative staff were invited to participate. Data were gathered through rapid serological tests to detect immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG against SARS-CoV-2. The χ² or Fisher's exact test was used to conduct statistical analysis. A 0.20 significance level was adopted for variable selection in a multiple logistic regression model to evaluate associations.
RESULTS
A total of 1648 individuals were enrolled in the study. The proportion of COVID-19 positivity was 164/1648 (9.8%). The adjusted logistic model indicate a positive association between the expression of IgM or IgG and age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.16, 95%CI: 1.02-1.31] (P < 0.0024), individuals who had been in contact with a COVID-19-positive case (OR = 3.49, 95%CI: 2.34-5.37) (P < 0.001), those who had received the COVID-19 vaccine (OR = 2.33, 95%CI: 1.61-3.35) (P < 0.001) and social isolation (OR = 0.59, 95%CI: 0.41-0.84) (P < 0.004). The likelihood of showing a positive result increased by 16% with every ten-year increment. Conversely, adherence to social distancing measures decreased the likelihood by 41%.
CONCLUSION
These findings evidenced that the population became more exposed to the virus as individuals discontinued social distancing practices, thereby increasing the risk of infection for themselves.
Core Tip: This study highlights the significance of serological surveillance in a university population during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The findings show that age, contact with COVID-19-positive individuals, and vaccination status are positively associated with the manifestation of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 antibodies. Additionally, adherence to social distancing measures significantly reduces the likelihood of infection. The prevalence of infection increased with relaxed social distancing practices, emphasizing the continued importance of preventive measures in controlling viral transmission.
