Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in people with an acute loss in their sense of smell and/or taste in a community-based population in London, UK: An observational cohort study

English version

Autoři: Janine Makaronidis ^aff001; Jessica Mok ^aff001; Nyaladzi Balogun ^aff001; Cormac G. Magee ^aff001; Rumana Z. Omar ^aff004; Alisia Carnemolla ^aff001; Rachel L. Batterham ^aff001
Působiště autorů: UCL Centre for Obesity Research, Division of Medicine, University College London, London, United Kingdom ^aff001; Bariatric Centre for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery, University College London Hospital, London, United Kingdom ^aff002; National Institute of Health Research, UCLH Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom ^aff003; Department of Statistical Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom ^aff004
Vyšlo v časopise: Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in people with an acute loss in their sense of smell and/or taste in a community-based population in London, UK: An observational cohort study. PLoS Med 17(10): e32767. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003358
Kategorie: Research Article
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003358

Souhrn

Background

Loss of smell and taste are commonly reported symptoms associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); however, the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in people with acute loss of smell and/or taste is unknown. The study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a community-based population with acute loss of smell and/or taste and to compare the frequency of COVID-19 associated symptoms in participants with and without SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. It also evaluated whether smell or taste loss are indicative of COVID-19 infection.

Methods and findings

Text messages, sent via primary care centers in London, United Kingdom, invited people with loss of smell and/or taste in the preceding month, to participate. Recruitment took place between 23 April 2020 and 14 May 2020. A total of 590 participants enrolled via a web-based platform and responded to questions about loss of smell and taste and other COVID-19–related symptoms. Mean age was 39.4 years (SD ± 12.0) and 69.1% (n = 392) of participants were female. A total of 567 (96.1%) had a telemedicine consultation during which their COVID-19–related symptoms were verified and a lateral flow immunoassay test that detected SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies was undertaken under medical supervision. A total of 77.6% of 567 participants with acute smell and/or taste loss had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies; of these, 39.8% (n = 175) had neither cough nor fever. New loss of smell was more prevalent in participants with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, compared with those without antibodies (93.4% versus 78.7%, p < 0.001), whereas taste loss was equally prevalent (90.2% versus 89.0%, p = 0.738). Seropositivity for SARS-CoV-2 was 3 times more likely in participants with smell loss (OR 2.86; 95% CI 1.27–6.36; p < 0.001) compared with those with taste loss. The limitations of this study are the lack of a general population control group, the self-reported nature of the smell and taste changes, and the fact our methodology does not take into account the possibility that a population subset may not seroconvert to develop SARS-CoV-2 antibodies post-COVID-19.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that recent loss of smell is a highly specific COVID-19 symptom and should be considered more generally in guiding case isolation, testing, and treatment of COVID-19.

Trials registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04377815

Klíčová slova:

Antibodies – Coughing – COVID 19 – SARS CoV 2 – Sensory perception – Smell – Taste – Virus testing

Zdroje

1. WHO. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic 2020 [Internet]. [cited 2020 9 September]. Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

2. Spinato G, Fabbris C, Polesel J, Cazzador D, Borsetto D, Hopkins C, et al. Alterations in Smell or Taste in Mildly Symptomatic Outpatients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection. JAMA. 2020;323(20):2089–90. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.6771 32320008

3. Hopkins C, Surda P, Kumar N. Presentation of new onset anosmia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rhinology. 2020;58(3):295–298. doi: 10.4193/Rhin20.116 32277751.

4. Kaye R, Chang CWD, Kazahaya K, Brereton J, Denneny JC 3rd. COVID-19 Anosmia Reporting Tool: Initial Findings. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2020;163(1):132–134. Epub 2020/04/29. doi: 10.1177/0194599820922992 32340555.

5. Hou YJ, Okuda K, Edwards CE, Martinez DR, Asakura T, Dinnon KH, et al. SARS-CoV-2 Reverse Genetics Reveals a Variable Infection Gradient in the Respiratory Tract. Cell. 2020;18(2):429–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.05.042.

6. Whitcroft KL, Hummel T. Olfactory Dysfunction in COVID-19: Diagnosis and Management. JAMA. 2020;323(24):2512–2514. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.8391 32432682

7. Hwang CS. Olfactory neuropathy in severe acute respiratory syndrome: report of A case. Acta neurologica Taiwanica. 2006;15(1):26–8. Epub 2006/04/08. 16599281.

8. Lee Y, Min P, Lee S, Kim SW. Prevalence and Duration of Acute Loss of Smell or Taste in COVID-19 Patients. J Korean Med Sci. 2020;35(18):e174. Epub 2020/05/10. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e174 32383370.

9. Lechien JR, Chiesa-Estomba CM, De Siati DR, Horoi M, Le Bon SD, Rodriguez A, et al. Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions as a clinical presentation of mild-to-moderate forms of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a multicenter European study. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2020;277 : 2251–2261. Epub 2020/04/08. doi: 10.1007/s00405-020-05965-1 32253535; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7134551.

10. Klopfenstein T, Kadiane-Oussou NJ, Toko L, Royer PY, Lepiller Q, Gendrin V, et al. Features of anosmia in COVID-19. Med Mal Infect. 2020;50(5):436–439. doi: 10.1016/j.medmal.2020.04.006 32305563; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7162775.

11. Zayet S, Klopfenstein T, Mercier J, Kadiane-Oussou NJ, Lan Cheong Wah L, Royer PY, et al. Contribution of anosmia and dysgeusia for diagnostic of COVID-19 in outpatients. Infection. 2020 : 1–5. Epub 2020/05/16. doi: 10.1007/s15010-019-01387-2 31919762; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7221233.

12. Streeck H, Schulte B, Kuemmerer B, Richter E, Hoeller T, Fuhrmann C, et al. Infection fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a German community with a super-spreading event. medRxiv. 2020 : 2020.05.04.20090076. doi: 10.1101/2020.05.04.20090076

13. Menni C, Valdes AM, Freidin MB, Sudre CH, Nguyen LH, Drew DA, et al. Real-time tracking of self-reported symptoms to predict potential COVID-19. Nat Med. 2020;26 : 1037–1040. doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-0916-2 32393804

14. JHU. Coronavirus Resource Center: John Hopkins University of Medicine; [cited 2020 9 September]. Available from: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

15. Elabscience. COVID-19 IgG and IgM. [cited 2020 30 May]. Available from: https://www.elabscience.com/p-covid_19_igg_igm_rapid_test-375335.html

16. ZOE. COVID symptom study [Internet]. [cited 2020 April]. Available from: https://covid.joinzoe.com/data

17. Machin D, Campbell M, Tan S, Tan S-H. Sample Size Tables for Clinical Studies, Third Edition. United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell; 2011. 314 p.

18. Schulz KF, Altman DG, Moher D. CONSORT 2010 Statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials. BMC Med. 2010;8 : 18. Epub 2010/03/26. doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-8-18 20334633; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2860339.

19. Xu H, Zhong L, Deng J, Peng J, Dan H, Zeng X, et al. High expression of ACE2 receptor of 2019-nCoV on the epithelial cells of oral mucosa. Int J Oral Sci. 2020;12(1):8. doi: 10.1038/s41368-020-0074-x 32094336

20. Long Q-X, Liu B-Z, Deng H-J, Wu G-C, Deng K, Chen Y-K, et al. Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19. Nature medicine. 2020;26 : 845–848. doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-0897-1 32350462

21. Sood N, Simon P, Ebner P, Eichner D, Reynolds J, Bendavid E, et al. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2–Specific Antibodies Among Adults in Los Angeles County, California, on April 10–11, 2020. JAMA. 2020;323(23):2425–2427. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.8279 32421144

22. CDC. Interim Guidelines for COVID-19 Antibody Testing [Internet]. 2020. [cited 2020 May 28]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/resources/antibody-tests-guidelines.html

23. Zou L, Ruan F, Huang M, Liang L, Huang H, Hong Z, et al. SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in Upper Respiratory Specimens of Infected Patients. The New England journal of medicine. 2020;382(12):1177–9. Epub 2020/02/19. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2001737 32074444.

24. Xiang F, Wang X, He X, Peng Z, Yang B, Zhang J, et al. Antibody Detection and Dynamic Characteristics in Patients with COVID-19. Clin Infect Dis. 2020. Epub 2020/04/20. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa461 32306047; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7188146.

25. Hou H, Wang T, Zhang B, Luo Y, Mao L, Wang F, et al. Detection of IgM and IgG antibodies in patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Clin Transl Immunology. 2020;9(5):e01136. Epub 2020/05/10. doi: 10.1002/cti2.1136 32382418; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7202656.

26. Zhao J, Yuan Q, Wang H, Liu W, Liao X, Su Y, et al. Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients of novel coronavirus disease 2019. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2020:ciaa344. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa344 32221519.

27. Fafi-Kremer S, Bruel T, Madec Y, Grant R, Tondeur L, Grzelak L, et al. Serologic responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection among hospital staff with mild disease in eastern France. medRxiv. 2020 : 2020.05.19.20101832. doi: 10.1101/2020.05.19.20101832

28. Giacomelli A, Pezzati L, Conti F, Bernacchia D, Siano M, Oreni L, et al. Self-reported Olfactory and Taste Disorders in Patients With Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2 Infection: A Cross-sectional Study. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2020;71(15):889–890. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa330 32215618

Článek The impact of continuous quality improvement on coverage of antenatal HIV care tests in rural South Africa: Results of a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised controlled implementation trial

Článek Universal third-trimester ultrasonic screening using fetal macrosomia in the prediction of adverse perinatal outcome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy

Článek The potential health impact of restricting less-healthy food and beverage advertising on UK television between 05.30 and 21.00 hours: A modelling study

Článek Health outcomes and cost-effectiveness of diversion programs for low-level drug offenders: A model-based analysis

Článek Developing and validating subjective and objective risk-assessment measures for predicting mortality after major surgery: An international prospective cohort study

Článek Time trends and prescribing patterns of opioid drugs in UK primary care patients with non-cancer pain: A retrospective cohort study

Článek Evaluation of a pharmacist-led actionable audit and feedback intervention for improving medication safety in UK primary care: An interrupted time series analysis

Článek Genetics of height and risk of atrial fibrillation: A Mendelian randomization study

Článek Neurodevelopmental multimorbidity and educational outcomes of Scottish schoolchildren: A population-based record linkage cohort study

Článek Predictive value of pulse oximetry for mortality in infants and children presenting to primary care with clinical pneumonia in rural Malawi: A data linkage study

Článek Tuberculosis, human rights, and law reform: Addressing the lack of progress in the global tuberculosis response

Článek Effectiveness of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine against vaccine serotype pneumococcal pneumonia in adults: A case-control test-negative design study