Division of Clinical Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
PeerJ. 2023 Jan 23;11:e14666. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14666. eCollection 2023.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a major healthcare threat worldwide. Since it was first identified in November 2021, the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV-2 has evolved into several lineages, including BA.1, BA.2-BA.4, and BA.5. SARS-CoV-2 variants might increase transmissibility, pathogenicity, and resistance to vaccine-induced immunity. Thus, the epidemiological surveillance of circulating lineages using variant phenotyping is essential. The aim of the current study was to characterize the clinical outcome of Omicron BA.2 infections among hospitalized COVID-19 patients and to perform an immunological assessment of such cases against SARS-CoV-2.
We evaluated the analytical and clinical performance of the BioIC SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin (Ig)M/IgG detection kit, which was used for detecting antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in 257 patients infected with the Omicron variant.
Poor prognosis was noted in 38 patients, including eight deaths in patients characterized by comorbidities predisposing them to severe COVID-19. The variant-of-concern (VOC) typing and serological analysis identified time-dependent epidemic trends of BA.2 variants emerging in the outbreak of the fourth wave in Taiwan. Of the 257 specimens analyzed, 108 (42%) and 24 (9.3%) were positive for anti-N IgM and IgG respectively.
The VOC typing of these samples allowed for the identification of epidemic trends by time intervals, including the B.1.1.529 variant replacing the B.1.617.2 variant. Moreover, antibody testing might serve as a complementary method for COVID-19 diagnosis. The combination of serological testing results with the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction cycle threshold value has potential value in disease prognosis, thereby aiding in epidemic investigations conducted by clinicians or the healthcare department.
由严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）引起的 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是全球主要的医疗保健威胁。自 2021 年 11 月首次发现以来，SARS-CoV-2 的奥密克戎（B.1.1.529）变体已经进化为几个谱系，包括 BA.1、BA.2-BA.4 和 BA.5。SARS-CoV-2 变体可能会增加传染性、致病性和对疫苗诱导免疫的抵抗力。因此，使用变体表型对循环谱系进行流行病学监测至关重要。本研究旨在描述住院 COVID-19 患者中奥密克戎 BA.2 感染的临床结果，并对这些病例进行 SARS-CoV-2 的免疫学评估。
我们评估了 BioIC SARS-CoV-2 免疫球蛋白（Ig）M/IgG 检测试剂盒的分析和临床性能，该试剂盒用于检测 257 名感染奥密克戎变异株患者的 SARS-CoV-2 抗体。
38 名患者预后较差，其中包括 8 名因合并症而导致 COVID-19 重症的患者死亡。变体关注（VOC）分型和血清学分析确定了台湾第四波疫情中 BA.2 变体出现的时间相关流行趋势。在分析的 257 个样本中，分别有 108（42%）和 24（9.3%）个样本抗-N IgM 和 IgG 呈阳性。
这些样本的 VOC 分型可通过时间间隔识别流行趋势，包括 B.1.1.529 变体取代 B.1.617.2 变体。此外，抗体检测可能是 COVID-19 诊断的一种补充方法。将血清学检测结果与逆转录-聚合酶链反应循环阈值相结合，在疾病预后方面具有潜在价值，从而有助于临床医生或医疗部门进行的流行病学调查。
