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. 2022 Dec;50(6):1483-1490.
doi: 10.1007/s15010-022-01824-9. Epub 2022 Apr 23.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in German secondary schools from October 2020 to July 2021: a longitudinal study

Carolin Kirsten #  1   2 , Elisabeth Kahre #  3 , Judith Blankenburg  3 , Leonie Schumm  3 , Luise Haag  3 , Lukas Galow  3 , Manja Unrath  3 , Paula Czyborra  3 , Josephine Schneider  3 , Christian Lück  4 , Alexander H Dalpke  4 , Reinhard Berner  3 , Jakob Armann  3
Affiliations

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in German secondary schools from October 2020 to July 2021: a longitudinal study

Carolin Kirsten et al. Infection. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: To quantify the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in students and teachers in 14 Secondary schools in eastern Saxony, Germany. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in study population. Number of undetected cases.

Methods: Serial seroprevalence study.

Results: The role of educational settings in the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic is still controversial. Seroprevalence increases from 0.8 to 5.9% from October to December when schools remained open and to 12.2% in March/April during a strict lockdown with closed schools. The ratio of undetected to detected cases decreased from 0.76 to 0.44 during the study period.

Conclusion: During the second and third wave of the pandemic in Germany, students and teachers are not overrepresented in SARS-CoV-2 infections. The percentage of undetected cases is moderate and decreases over time. The risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 within the household is higher than contracting it in educational settings making school closures rather ineffective in terms of pandemic control measures or individual risk reduction in children and adolescents.

Trial registration: DRKS00022455 (July 23rd, 2020).

Keywords: Infectious disease; Pediatrics; SARS-CoV-2; Seroprevalence; Students; Teachers.

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Conflict of interest statement

JA and RB received funding via a grant from the Federal State of Saxony. None of the other authors have any conflict of interest or financial disclosure.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections in Saxony between March 2020 and September 2021. Timepoints of study visits in the schools (blue arrows) and the timelines of lockdowns (yellow arrows)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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