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. 2022 Jan 25;12(1):e055721.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055721.

University population-based prospective cohort study of SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunity (SARSSURV-ULiège): a study protocol

Anne-Françoise Donneau  1 , Michèle Guillaume  2 , Vincent Bours  3 , Margaux Dandoy  4 , Gilles Darcis  5 , Daniel Desmecht  6 , Anh Nguyet Diep  2 , Laurence Fievez  7 , Mutien-Marie Garigliany  6 , Nicolas Gillain  2 , Eddy Husson  2 , Fabienne Michel  8 , Michel Moutschen  5 , Marine Paridans  9 , Pétre Benoît  9 , Catherine Sabatel  7 , Claude Saegerman  10 , Amandine Tytgat  7 , Laurent Gillet #  11 , Fabrice Bureau #  7
Affiliations

University population-based prospective cohort study of SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunity (SARSSURV-ULiège): a study protocol

Anne-Françoise Donneau et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Introduction: For a safe and sustainable return to normal functioning of academic activities in higher education, objective-driven testing strategies that are flexible and rapidly adaptable are essential to effectively monitor and respond to new developments of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, prospective longitudinal research on SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing in saliva and seroprevalence in higher education contexts is substantially lacking, limiting our understanding of COVID-19 prevalence, incidence and nature of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 at various stages of the infection and vaccination. To address this lack of evidence, a prospective population-based cohort study (SARSSURV-ULiège) has recently been started.

Methods and analysis: Students (n=1396) and staff members (n=1143) of the University of Liège are followed up over more than 1 year. All participants are required to complete anamnestic, clinical and vaccine hesitancy questionnaires for medical histories and undertaken treatments. Previous proven or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection is also registered. In phase 1, weekly saliva samples to perform RT-qPCR to detect SARS-CoV-2 and monthly COVID-19 serological rapid test results are collected. Once being positive to either saliva RT-qPCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 presence or to serological test, the participant is invited to enter phase 2. If participants get vaccinated during the study period, they are invited to phase 2. In this second phase, besides weekly saliva self-test, depending on the participants' profiles, both gargle and blood samples are collected to obtain various biological data to measure the presence of neutralising antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, determine the magnitude and the duration of antibody responses over time.

Ethics and dissemination: The study has received the approval from the University Hospital of Liège Ethics Committee (reference number 2021/96, dated 26 March 2021). Potential protocol amendments will be presented to the Research Ethics Committee. The findings of the present study will be presented at scientific conferences and the results published in peer-review publications. Weekly reports will be submitted to the risk assessment group and the risk management group against COVID-19 of the university to enable a timely public health action if necessary.

Keywords: COVID-19; epidemiology; immunology; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The two last authors are the inventors of the device used in the saliva collection kit. This device was patented (EP20186086.3) and produced by Diagenode (Seraing, Belgium) under a commercial agreement with the University of Liège.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant pathway – recruitment procedure SARSSURV-ULiège cohort study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Participant pathway – follow-up procedure SARSSURV-ULiège cohort study.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Pathway of human samples, SARSSURV-ULiège cohort study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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