Evidence of rapid rise in population immunity from SARS-CoV-2 subclinical infections through pre-vaccination serial serosurveys in Pakistan.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Understanding factors associated with protective immunity against emerging viral infections is crucial for global health. Pakistan reported its first COVID-19 case on 26 February 2020, but experienced relatively low COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality between 2020 and 2022. The underlying reasons for this remain unclear, and our research aims to shed light on this crucial issue.

Methods

We conducted a serial population-based serosurvey over 16 months (rounds 1-4, July 2020 to November 2021) across households in urban (Karachi) and rural (Matiari) Sindh, sampling 1100 households and 3900 individuals. We measured antibodies in sera and tested a subset of respiratory samples for COVID-19 using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antigen tests, also measuring hae

SUBMITTER: Iqbal J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11842006 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature