Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Arab American University, Ramallah, Palestine
Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Arab American University, Ramallah, Palestine.
BMJ Open. 2021 Feb 4;11(2):e044552. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044552.
Seroprevalence rates are important indicators to the epidemiology of COVID-19 and the extent of the pandemic given the existence of asymptomatic cases. The purpose of this study is to assess the seroprevalence rate in the Palestinian population residing in the West Bank.
The study involved 1355 participants from 11 governorates, including 112 localities in the West Bank and 1136 individuals visiting Palestinian medical laboratories.
Blood samples were collected between 15th June 2020 and 30th June 2020 from 1355 individuals from randomly selected households in the West Bank, in addition to 1136 individuals visiting Palestinian medical laboratories between the 1st May 2020 and 9th July 2020 for a routine check-up.
Out of the 2491 blood samples collected, serological tests for 2455 adequate serum samples were done using an immunoassay for qualitative detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Seroprevalence was estimated as the proportion of individuals who had a positive result in the total SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the immunoassay.
The random sample of Palestinians living in the West Bank yielded 0% seroprevalence with 95% and an adjusted CI (0% to 0.0043%), while the lab referral samples yielded an estimated seroprevalence of 0.354% with 95% and an adjusted CI (0.001325% to 0.011566%).
Our results indicate that as of mid-June 2020, seroprevalence in Palestine persists low and is inadequate to provide herd immunity, emphasising the need to maintain health measures to keep the outbreak under control. Population-based seroprevalence studies are to be conducted periodically to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Palestine and inform policymakers about the efficacy of their surveillance system.
鉴于存在无症状病例，血清流行率是 COVID-19 流行病学和大流行程度的重要指标。本研究的目的是评估居住在约旦河西岸的巴勒斯坦人口的血清流行率。
该研究涉及来自 11 个省的 1355 名参与者，包括约旦河西岸的 112 个地点和 1136 名前往巴勒斯坦医疗实验室就诊的个体。
2020 年 6 月 15 日至 6 月 30 日期间，从约旦河西岸随机抽取的家庭中采集了 1355 名个体的血液样本，此外，2020 年 5 月 1 日至 7 月 9 日期间，有 1136 名个体前往巴勒斯坦医疗实验室进行常规检查。
在采集的 2491 份血样中，对 2455 份充足血清样本进行了血清学检测，使用免疫测定法定性检测针对 SARS-CoV-2 的抗体。血清流行率估计为免疫测定中 SARS-CoV-2 总抗体阳性结果的个体比例。
居住在约旦河西岸的巴勒斯坦人的随机样本血清流行率为 0%，95%和调整后的置信区间（0%至 0.0043%），而实验室转诊样本的估计血清流行率为 0.354%，95%和调整后的置信区间（0.001325%至 0.011566%）。
我们的结果表明，截至 2020 年 6 月中旬，巴勒斯坦的血清流行率仍然很低，不足以提供群体免疫，这强调了需要保持卫生措施以控制疫情。应定期进行基于人群的血清流行率研究，以监测巴勒斯坦的 SARS-CoV-2 血清流行率，并向决策者通报其监测系统的效果。
