Unlocking the potential of dried blood spot sampling for SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection: A pathway to efficient pandemic surveillance.

UNLABELLED

The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has exerted unprecedented pressure on global healthcare systems, with an urgent demand for widespread testing to monitor virus spread and contribute to disease control.

AIM

This study aimed to validate the use of Dried Blood Spot (DBS) sampling for analyzing the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, employing an accessible enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting IgG antibodies.

METHODOLOGY

Traditional venous blood sampling presents several challenges, including discomfort to patients, risk of healthcare provider exposure, and the need for specialized equipment, which can limit mass testing capabilities. Our research involved the comparison of DBS and venous blood samples from 170 individuals, all of whom had PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, to assess the efficacy of DBS for seroprevalence studies and vaccine response evaluation.

RESULTS

Our results confirmed that DBS sampling could detect SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies with 100 % accuracy, showcasing perfect agreement (Cohen's k value of 1.00) between DBS and venous serum samples in detecting the viral antibodies. However, the analysis indicated no significant correlation between the antibody levels in the two sampling methods.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that DBS is a viable, rapid alternative for serological studies, offering a solution to current testing limitations and enhancing our public health approach to combating future pandemics.