{"doi":"10.1101/2024.03.03.24303672","title":"The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in Australian children: a cross sectional study","abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Background</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Following reduction of public health and social measures concurrent with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron emergence in late 2021 in Australia, COVID-19 case notification rates rose rapidly. As rates of direct viral testing and reporting dropped, true infection rates were most likely to be underestimated.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Objective</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>To better understand infection rates and immunity in this population, we aimed to estimate SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Australians aged 0-19 years.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Methods</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>We conducted a national cross sectional serosurvey from June 1, 2022, to August 31, 2022, in children aged 0-19 years undergoing an anesthetic procedure at eight tertiary pediatric hospitals. Parents or guardians of children and adolescents under 18 years provided written consent and participants aged 18-19 years provided their own consent. Participant questionnaires were administered, and blood samples tested using the Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 total spike and nucleocapsid antibody assays. S and N seroprevalence adjusted for geographic and socioeconomic imbalances in the participant sample compared to the Australian population was estimated using multilevel regression and poststratification within a Bayesian framework.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Blood was collected from 2,046 participants (median age: 6.6 years). Adjusted seroprevalence of spike-antibody was 92.1 % (95% credible interval (CrI) 91.0-93.3%) and nucleocapsid-antibody was 67.0% (95% CrI 64.6-69.3). In unvaccinated children spike and nucleocapsid antibody seroprevalences were 84.2% (95% CrI 81.9-86.5) and 67.1% (95%CrI 64.0-69.8), respectively. Seroprevalence increased with age but was similar across geographic distribution and socioeconomic quintiles.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Most Australian children and adolescents aged 0-19 years, across all jurisdictions were infected with SARS-CoV-2 by August 2022, suggesting rapid and uniform spread across the population in a very short time period. High seropositivity in unvaccinated children informed COVID-19 vaccine recommendations in Australia.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Funding</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.</jats:p>\n                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Britton","orcid":"0000-0002-2993-6000","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":918375,"name":"Marnie Downes","orcid":"0000-0002-0677-2517","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585622,"name":"Shayal A Prasad","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":632593,"name":"Suellen Nicholson","orcid":"0000-0001-6585-7150","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585623,"name":"Noni E Winkler","orcid":null,"position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585624,"name":"Matthew V N O’Sullivan","orcid":null,"position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585625,"name":"Fatima Gondalwala","orcid":null,"position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585626,"name":"Cecile Castellano","orcid":null,"position":9,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1033803,"name":"Emma Carey","orcid":null,"position":10,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585627,"name":"Alexandra Hendry","orcid":null,"position":11,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1304448,"name":"Nigel Crawford","orcid":null,"position":12,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585628,"name":"Ushma Wadia","orcid":null,"position":13,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":266212,"name":"Peter Richmond","orcid":"0000-0001-7562-7228","position":14,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585629,"name":"Helen S Marshall","orcid":null,"position":15,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1110850,"name":"Julia Clark","orcid":"0000-0001-7746-0599","position":16,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585630,"name":"Joshua R Francis","orcid":null,"position":17,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":925749,"name":"Jeremy Carr","orcid":"0000-0002-2729-0920","position":18,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":437535,"name":"Adam Bartlett","orcid":"0000-0002-7532-9316","position":19,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":840001,"name":"Brendan McMullan","orcid":"0000-0001-5144-3416","position":20,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585631,"name":"Justin Skowno","orcid":null,"position":21,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585632,"name":"Donald Hannah","orcid":null,"position":22,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1447285,"name":"Andrew Davidson","orcid":"0000-0002-7050-7419","position":23,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585633,"name":"Britta S von Ungern-Sternberg","orcid":null,"position":24,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585634,"name":"Paul Lee-Archer","orcid":null,"position":25,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585635,"name":"Laura L Burgoyne","orcid":null,"position":26,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585636,"name":"Edith B Waugh","orcid":"0000-0002-8685-5389","position":27,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585637,"name":"John B Carlin","orcid":null,"position":28,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":165581,"name":"Zin Naing","orcid":null,"position":29,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585638,"name":"Nicole Kerly","orcid":null,"position":30,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":796148,"name":"Alissa McMinn","orcid":"0000-0001-6063-4847","position":31,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585639,"name":"Guillian Hunter","orcid":null,"position":32,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585640,"name":"Christine Heath","orcid":null,"position":33,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585641,"name":"Natascha D’Angelo","orcid":null,"position":34,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585642,"name":"Carolyn Finucane","orcid":null,"position":35,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585643,"name":"Laura A Francis","orcid":null,"position":36,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1111340,"name":"Sonia Dougherty","orcid":null,"position":37,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585644,"name":"William Rawlinson","orcid":null,"position":38,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1060430,"name":"Theo Karapanagiotidis","orcid":"0000-0001-7057-9765","position":39,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1061018,"name":"Natalie Cain","orcid":null,"position":40,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1585645,"name":"Rianne Brizuela","orcid":null,"position":41,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1110851,"name":"Christopher C. Blyth","orcid":"0000-0003-2017-0683","position":42,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":846332,"name":"Nicholas Wood","orcid":"0000-0002-5909-7885","position":43,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":779614,"name":"Kristine Macartney","orcid":"0000-0002-4675-0232","position":44,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":883722,"name":"Archana Koirala","orcid":"0000-0002-2567-8825","position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in Australian children: a cross sectional study","abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Background</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Following reduction of public health and social measures concurrent with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron emergence in late 2021 in Australia, COVID-19 case notification rates rose rapidly. As rates of direct viral testing and reporting dropped, true infection rates were most likely to be underestimated.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Objective</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>To better understand infection rates and immunity in this population, we aimed to estimate SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Australians aged 0-19 years.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Methods</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>We conducted a national cross sectional serosurvey from June 1, 2022, to August 31, 2022, in children aged 0-19 years undergoing an anesthetic procedure at eight tertiary pediatric hospitals. Parents or guardians of children and adolescents under 18 years provided written consent and participants aged 18-19 years provided their own consent. Participant questionnaires were administered, and blood samples tested using the Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 total spike and nucleocapsid antibody assays. S and N seroprevalence adjusted for geographic and socioeconomic imbalances in the participant sample compared to the Australian population was estimated using multilevel regression and poststratification within a Bayesian framework.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Blood was collected from 2,046 participants (median age: 6.6 years). Adjusted seroprevalence of spike-antibody was 92.1 % (95% credible interval (CrI) 91.0-93.3%) and nucleocapsid-antibody was 67.0% (95% CrI 64.6-69.3). In unvaccinated children spike and nucleocapsid antibody seroprevalences were 84.2% (95% CrI 81.9-86.5) and 67.1% (95%CrI 64.0-69.8), respectively. Seroprevalence increased with age but was similar across geographic distribution and socioeconomic quintiles.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Most Australian children and adolescents aged 0-19 years, across all jurisdictions were infected with SARS-CoV-2 by August 2022, suggesting rapid and uniform spread across the population in a very short time period. High seropositivity in unvaccinated children informed COVID-19 vaccine recommendations in Australia.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Funding</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.</jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"21097893","pmcid":null,"openalex_id":null,"authors":[],"funders":[{"funder_name":"Wellcome Trust","grant_id":"unidentified","title":"unidentified"}],"total_grants":1,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[],"oa_status":"green","license":"cc-by","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://www.medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2024/03/04/2024.03.03.24303672.full.pdf","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.1101/2024.03.03.24303672","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/62b58872-a165-49d7-831f-eb6eff88f2be","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.03.24303672","host_type":""},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0300555","host_type":""},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39292730","host_type":""},{"url":"http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0300555","host_type":""},{"url":"https://api.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:1fcfc79","host_type":""},{"url":"https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:1fcfc79","host_type":""}],"fields_of_study":["0303 health sciences","03 medical and health sciences"],"mesh_terms":[],"keywords":["Male","Adolescent","SARS-CoV-2","Australia","Infant, Newborn","COVID-19","Infant","Antibodies, Viral","Young Adult","Cross-Sectional Studies","Seroepidemiologic Studies","1000 General","Child, Preschool","Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus","Responses","Humans","Immunization","Female","Child","Research Article"],"sdg_mappings":[],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-02T19:26:51.400802Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}