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. 2021 Apr:105:333-336.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.02.059. Epub 2021 Feb 18.

Assessment of commercial SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays, Jamaica

Tiffany R Butterfield  1 , Alrica Bruce-Mowatt  1 , Yakima Z R Phillips  1 , Nicole Brown  1 , Keisha Francis  1 , Jabari Brown  2 , Jerome P Walker  1 , Niel A L McKnight  1 , Kelvin Ehikhametalor  3 , Devon K Taylor  4 , Carl A Bruce  5 , Donovan McGrowder  2 , Gilian Wharfe  2 , Simone L Sandiford  6 , Tamara K Thompson  7 , Joshua J Anzinger  8
Affiliations

Assessment of commercial SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays, Jamaica

Tiffany R Butterfield et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Background: The performance of the Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2, Abbott Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgM, Abbott Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG, Euroimmun SARS-CoV-2 IgA, Euroimmun SARS-CoV-2 IgG ELISA, and Trillium IgG/IgM rapid assays was evaluated in Jamaica.

Methods: Diagnostic sensitivities of the assays were assessed by testing serum samples from SARS-CoV-2 PCR-confirmed persons and diagnostic specificity was assessed by testing serum samples collected during 2018-2019 from healthy persons and from persons with antibodies to a wide range of viral infections.

Results: Serum samples collected ≥14 days after onset of symptoms, or an initial SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive test for asymptomatics, showed diagnostic sensitivities ranging from 67.9 to 75.0% when including all possible disease severities and increased to 90.0-95.0% when examining those with moderate to critical disease. Grouping moderate to critical disease showed a significant association with a SARS-CoV-2 antibody positive result for all assays. Diagnostic specificity ranged from 96.7 to 100.0%. For all assays examined, SARS-CoV-2 real-time PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values of the initial nasopharyngeal swab sample testing positive were significantly different for samples testing antibody positive versus negative.

Conclusions: These data from a predominantly African descent Caribbean population show comparable diagnostic sensitivities and specificities for all testing platforms assessed and limited utility of these tests for persons with asymptomatic and mild infections.

Keywords: Antibody; COVID-19; Caribbean; Jamaica; SARS-CoV-2; Serology.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
SARS-CoV-2 antibody assay results by days after symptom onset for SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive persons. Means with standard deviations are displayed for (A) Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgM, (B) Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG, (C) Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2, (D) Euroimmun SARS-CoV-2 IgA, and (E) Euroimmun SARS-CoV-2 IgG assays. Horizontal dotted lines indicate cutoff values. For (F) Trillium SARS-CoV-2 IgM and (G) Trillium SARS-CoV-2 IgG, white bars indicate the number of positive samples and colored bars indicate samples testing negative. Disease severity is color coded as follows: green = asymptomatic, blue = mild, orange = moderate, yellow = severe, and red = critical.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Agreement between SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays. Results for all SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive samples tested for each antibody testing platform are shown. Positive results are shown in white, borderline results in light grey, negative results in dark grey. Boxes with an X indicate no result for sample due to insufficient sample volume.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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