Version 1
: Received: 2 September 2024 / Approved: 2 September 2024 / Online: 2 September 2024 (23:35:31 CEST)
How to cite:
Iqbal, J.; Hasan, Z.; Habib, M. A.; Malik, A.; Muhammad, S.; Begum, K.; Zuberi, R.; Umer, M.; Ikram, A.; Cousens, S.; Soofi, S. B.; Bhutta, Z. A. Evidence of Rapid Rise in Population Immunity from Subclinical Infections in Pakistan from Pre-vaccination Serial Serosurveys in Pakistan. Preprints2024, 2024090135. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0135.v1
Iqbal, J.; Hasan, Z.; Habib, M. A.; Malik, A.; Muhammad, S.; Begum, K.; Zuberi, R.; Umer, M.; Ikram, A.; Cousens, S.; Soofi, S. B.; Bhutta, Z. A. Evidence of Rapid Rise in Population Immunity from Subclinical Infections in Pakistan from Pre-vaccination Serial Serosurveys in Pakistan. Preprints 2024, 2024090135. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0135.v1
Iqbal, J.; Hasan, Z.; Habib, M. A.; Malik, A.; Muhammad, S.; Begum, K.; Zuberi, R.; Umer, M.; Ikram, A.; Cousens, S.; Soofi, S. B.; Bhutta, Z. A. Evidence of Rapid Rise in Population Immunity from Subclinical Infections in Pakistan from Pre-vaccination Serial Serosurveys in Pakistan. Preprints2024, 2024090135. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0135.v1
APA Style
Iqbal, J., Hasan, Z., Habib, M. A., Malik, A., Muhammad, S., Begum, K., Zuberi, R., Umer, M., Ikram, A., Cousens, S., Soofi, S. B., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2024). Evidence of Rapid Rise in Population Immunity from Subclinical Infections in Pakistan from Pre-vaccination Serial Serosurveys in Pakistan. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0135.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Iqbal, J., Sajid Bashir Soofi and Zulfiqar A. Bhutta. 2024 "Evidence of Rapid Rise in Population Immunity from Subclinical Infections in Pakistan from Pre-vaccination Serial Serosurveys in Pakistan" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0135.v1
Abstract
Background: Understanding factors associated with protective immunity against emerging viral infections is crucial for global health. Pakistan reported its first COVID-19 case on February 26, 2020, but compared to other countries, it experienced relatively low COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality between 2020 and 2022. The underlying reasons remain unclear. Our research aims to shed light on this crucial issue.
Methods: We conducted serial household surveys over 16 months (Rounds 1-4, July 2020 - November 2021) in urban (Karachi) and rural (Matiari) Sindh, sampling 1100 households and 3900 individuals. Our comprehensive approach included measuring antibodies in sera, testing a subset of respiratory samples for COVID-19 using RT-PCR and antigen tests, and measuring Hemoglobin, CRP, Vitamin D, and zinc in Round 1.
Results Participants showed 23% (95% CI 21.9-24.5) antibody seroprevalence in round 1, increasing across rounds to 29% (95% CI 27.4-30.6), 49% (95% CI 47.2-50.9) and 79% (95% CI 77.4-80.8). Urban residents had 2.6 times (95% CI 1.9-3.6) higher odds of seropositivity than rural residents. Seropositivity did not differ between genders. Individuals aged 20-49 had 7.5 (95% CI 4.6-12.4) times higher odds of seropositivity compared to children aged 0-4. Most participants were asymptomatic, with no reported mortality. Vitamin D deficiency was linked to seroprevalence. COVID-19 was confirmed in 1.8% of individuals via RT-PCR and antigen tests.
Conclusions: The data suggests a steady increase in humoral immunity in Pakistan, likely due to increased transmission and potential cross-protective immunity, which may be associated with asymptomatic disease, leading to the reduction of morbidity and mortality observed.
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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