Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun 15;72(12):e1004-e1009.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1785.

Serologic Testing of US Blood Donations to Identify Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-Reactive Antibodies: December 2019-January 2020

Sridhar V Basavaraju  1 , Monica E Patton  1 , Kacie Grimm  2 , Mohammed Ata Ur Rasheed  2 , Sandra Lester  2 , Lisa Mills  3 , Megan Stumpf  3 , Brandi Freeman  1 , Azaibi Tamin  1 , Jennifer Harcourt  1 , Jarad Schiffer  1 , Vera Semenova  1 , Han Li  1 , Bailey Alston  4 , Muyiwa Ategbole  5 , Shanna Bolcen  1 , Darbi Boulay  1 , Peter Browning  1 , Li Cronin  1 , Ebenezer David  6 , Rita Desai  1 , Monica Epperson  1 , Yamini Gorantla  5 , Tao Jia  1 , Panagiotis Maniatis  1 , Kimberly Moss  4 , Kristina Ortiz  4 , So Hee Park  4 , Palak Patel  6 , Yunlong Qin  4 , Evelene Steward-Clark  1 , Heather Tatum  5 , Andrew Vogan  4 , Briana Zellner  7 , Jan Drobeniuc  1 , Matthew R P Sapiano  1 , Fiona Havers  1 , Carrie Reed  1 , Susan Gerber  1 , Natalie J Thornburg  1 , Susan L Stramer  2
Affiliations

Serologic Testing of US Blood Donations to Identify Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-Reactive Antibodies: December 2019-January 2020

Sridhar V Basavaraju et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, with subsequent worldwide spread. The first US cases were identified in January 2020.

Methods: To determine if SARS-CoV-2-reactive antibodies were present in sera prior to the first identified case in the United States on 19 January 2020, residual archived samples from 7389 routine blood donations collected by the American Red Cross from 13 December 2019 to 17 January 2020 from donors resident in 9 states (California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin) were tested at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Specimens reactive by pan-immunoglobulin (pan-Ig) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against the full spike protein were tested by IgG and IgM ELISAs, microneutralization test, Ortho total Ig S1 ELISA, and receptor-binding domain/ACE2 blocking activity assay.

Results: Of the 7389 samples, 106 were reactive by pan-Ig. Of these 106 specimens, 90 were available for further testing. Eighty-four of 90 had neutralizing activity, 1 had S1 binding activity, and 1 had receptor-binding domain/ACE2 blocking activity >50%, suggesting the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2-reactive antibodies. Donations with reactivity occurred in all 9 states.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may have been introduced into the United States prior to 19 January 2020.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; antibody; blood donors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in