[Period Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in an Unselected Sample of Pregnant Women in Jena, Thuringia].
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ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:Following an exponential increase in SARS-CoV-2 infections, the city of Jena, Thuringia, was the first in Germany to introduce mandatory mouth and nose coverings. An estimation of the SARS-CoV-2 period prevalence was achieved by screening an unselected cohort of pregnant women. Of interest was the number of unreported cases. METHODS:Upon admission to hospital, patients were screened for SARS-CoV-2 by a specific real-time PCR and antibodies determined by a specific SARS-CoV-2 IgG in serum by ELISA. The SARS-CoV-2 period prevalence was estimated using the Clopper-Pearson exact method, the group comparison with Fischer's exact test. RESULTS:From 6 April to 13 May 2020, 234 pregnant women were admitted to the Department of Obstetrics. A total of 225 (96.2%) SARS-CoV-2 PCRs were carried out and all remained negative. Specific IgG antibodies were detected in one (0.6%) of 180 (76.9%) antibody tests performed. The interval estimate of the period prevalence thus results in a 95% confidence interval between 0-1.7%. For 96 households with children, the period prevalence is 0-3.8%, which does not differ from the 0-4.8% for 76 households without children (p=1.00). DISCUSSION:This is the first report on the SARS-CoV-2 period prevalence of an unselected sample of pregnant women in Germany. Antibody testing showed no evidence of the feared high number of unreported asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections. The seroconversion rate was below 1% (0.6%).
SUBMITTER: Zollkau J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7516362 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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