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Ladhani SN, Ireland G, Baawuah F, et al. Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant, infection rates, antibody seroconversion and seroprevalence rates in secondary school students and staff: Active prospective surveillance, December 2020 to March 2021, England. J Infect. 2021;83(5):573-580doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2021.08.019.
Ladhani, S. N., Ireland, G., Baawuah, F., Beckmann, J., Okike, I. O., Ahmad, S., Garstang, J., Brent, A. J., Brent, B., Aiano, F., Amin-Chowdhury, Z., Kall, M., Borrow, R., Linley, E., Zambon, M., Poh, J., Warrener, L., Lackenby, A., Ellis, J., Amirthalingam, G., Brown, K. E., & Ramsay, M. E. (2021). Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant, infection rates, antibody seroconversion and seroprevalence rates in secondary school students and staff: Active prospective surveillance, December 2020 to March 2021, England. The Journal of infection, 83(5), 573-580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2021.08.019
Ladhani, Shamez N, et al. "Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant, infection rates, antibody seroconversion and seroprevalence rates in secondary school students and staff: Active prospective surveillance, December 2020 to March 2021, England." The Journal of infection vol. 83,5 (2021): 573-580. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2021.08.019
Ladhani SN, Ireland G, Baawuah F, Beckmann J, Okike IO, Ahmad S, Garstang J, Brent AJ, Brent B, Aiano F, Amin-Chowdhury Z, Kall M, Borrow R, Linley E, Zambon M, Poh J, Warrener L, Lackenby A, Ellis J, Amirthalingam G, Brown KE, Ramsay ME. Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant, infection rates, antibody seroconversion and seroprevalence rates in secondary school students and staff: Active prospective surveillance, December 2020 to March 2021, England. J Infect. 2021 Nov;83(5):573-580. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2021.08.019. Epub 2021 Aug 13. PMID: 34400220; PMCID: PMC8361003.
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J Infect. 2021 Nov;83(5):573-580. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2021.08.019. Epub 2021 Aug 13.

Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant, infection rates, antibody seroconversion and seroprevalence rates in secondary school students and staff: Active prospective surveillance, December 2020 to March 2021, England.

The Journal of infection

Shamez N Ladhani, Georgina Ireland, Frances Baawuah, Joanne Beckmann, Ifeanyichukwu O Okike, Shazaad Ahmad, Joanna Garstang, Andrew J Brent, Bernadette Brent, Felicity Aiano, Zahin Amin-Chowdhury, Meaghan Kall, Ray Borrow, Ezra Linley, Maria Zambon, John Poh, Lenesha Warrener, Angie Lackenby, Joanna Ellis, Gayatri Amirthalingam, Kevin E Brown, Mary E Ramsay

Affiliations

  1. Immunisation and Countermeasures Division, National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, United Kingdom; Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group, St. George's University of London, London SW17 0RE, United Kingdom.
  2. Immunisation and Countermeasures Division, National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, United Kingdom.
  3. East London NHS Foundation Trust, 9 Alie Street, London E1 8DE, United Kingdom.
  4. Immunisation and Countermeasures Division, National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, United Kingdom; University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK, 201 London Road, Derby DE1 2TZ, United Kingdom.
  5. Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL, United Kingdom.
  6. Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Holt Street, Aston B7 4BN, United Kingdom.
  7. Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Old Road, Oxford OX3 7HE, United Kingdom; University of Oxford, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD, United Kingdom.
  8. Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Old Road, Oxford OX3 7HE, United Kingdom.
  9. Public Health England, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, United Kingdom.

PMID: 34400220 PMCID: PMC8361003 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2021.08.019

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: We assessed SARS-CoV-2 infection, seroprevalence and seroconversion in students and staff when secondary schools reopened in March 2021.

METHODS: We initiated SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in 18 secondary schools across six regions in September 2020. Participants provided nasal swabs for RT-PCR and blood samples for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at the beginning (September 2020) and end (December 2020) of the autumn term and at the start of the spring term (March 2021).

FINDINGS: In March 2021, 1895 participants (1100 students:795 staff) were tested; 5.6% (61/1094) students and 4.4% (35/792) staff had laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from December 2020-March 2021. Nucleoprotein-antibody seroprevalence was 36.3% (370/1018) in students and 31.9% (245/769) in staff, while spike-antibody prevalence was 39.5% (402/1018) and 59.8% (459/769), respectively, similar to regional community seroprevalence. Between December 2020 and March 2021, 14.8% (97/656; 95%CI: 12.2-17.7) students and 10.0% (59/590; 95%CI: 7.7-12.7) staff seroconverted. Weekly seroconversion rates were similar from September to December 2020 (8.0/1000) and from December 2020 to March 2021 (7.9/1000; students: 9.3/1,000; staff: 6.3/1,000).

INTERPRETATION: By March 2021, a third of secondary school students and staff had evidence of prior infection based on N-antibody seropositivity, and an additional third of staff had evidence of vaccine-induced immunity based on S-antibody seropositivity.

Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest MR reports that The Immunization and Countermeasures Division has provided vaccine manufacturers with post-marketing surveillance reports on pneumococcal and meningoc

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