Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
National Radiation Emergency Medical Center, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea.
Epidemiol Health. 2023;45:e2023075. doi: 10.4178/epih.e2023075. Epub 2023 Aug 17.
We estimated the population prevalence of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), including unreported infections, through a Korea Seroprevalence Study of Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Retention and Transmission (K-SEROSMART) in 258 communities throughout Korea.
In August 2022, a survey was conducted among 10,000 household members aged 5 years and older, in households selected through two stage probability random sampling. During face-to-face household interviews, participants self-reported their health status, COVID-19 diagnosis and vaccination history, and general characteristics. Subsequently, participants visited a community health center or medical clinic for blood sampling. Blood samples were analyzed for the presence of antibodies to spike proteins (anti-S) and antibodies to nucleocapsid proteins (anti-N) SARS-CoV-2 proteins using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. To estimate the population prevalence, the PROC SURVEYMEANS statistical procedure was employed, with weighting to reflect demographic data from July 2022.
In total, 9,945 individuals from 5,041 households were surveyed across 258 communities, representing all basic local governments in Korea. The overall population-adjusted prevalence rates of anti-S and anti-N were 97.6% and 57.1%, respectively. Since the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has reported a cumulative incidence of confirmed cases of 37.8% through July 31, 2022, the proportion of unreported infections among all COVID-19 infection was suggested to be 33.9%.
The K-SEROSMART represents the first nationwide, community-based seroepidemiologic survey of COVID-19, confirming that most individuals possess antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and that a significant number of unreported cases existed. Furthermore, this study lays the foundation for a surveillance system to continuously monitor transmission at the community level and the response to COVID-19.
通过在韩国各地 258 个社区开展的监测严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）抗体保留和传播的韩国血清流行率研究（K-SEROSMART），我们估计了包括未报告感染在内的 SARS-CoV-2 抗体的人群流行率。
2022 年 8 月，对年龄在 5 岁及以上的 10000 名家庭成员进行了一项调查，家庭成员是通过两阶段概率随机抽样选择的。在面对面的家庭访谈中，参与者自我报告了他们的健康状况、COVID-19 诊断和疫苗接种史以及一般特征。随后，参与者前往社区卫生中心或诊所进行血液采样。使用电化学发光免疫分析检测血液样本中针对刺突蛋白（anti-S）和核衣壳蛋白（anti-N）SARS-CoV-2 蛋白的抗体。为了估计人群流行率，使用 PROC SURVEYMEANS 统计程序进行分析，并对权重进行了调整，以反映 2022 年 7 月的人口数据。
在韩国各地的 258 个社区中，共对来自 5041 个家庭的 9945 人进行了调查，代表了韩国所有的基础地方政府。总体人口调整后的 anti-S 和 anti-N 阳性率分别为 97.6%和 57.1%。由于韩国疾病控制和预防局报告截至 2022 年 7 月 31 日累计确诊病例的发病率为 37.8%，因此推测所有 COVID-19 感染中未报告的感染比例为 33.9%。
K-SEROSMART 代表了首个全国性的基于社区的 COVID-19 血清流行病学调查，证实大多数人都具有 SARS-CoV-2 抗体，并且存在大量未报告的病例。此外，这项研究为在社区层面持续监测传播和对 COVID-19 的反应奠定了基础。
