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SARS-CoV-2 infection, antibody positivity and seroconversion rates in staff and students following full reopening of secondary schools in England: A prospective cohort study, September-December 2020.
Ladhani, Shamez N; Ireland, Georgina; Baawuah, Frances; Beckmann, Joanne; Okike, Ifeanyichukwu O; Ahmad, Shazaad; Garstang, Joanna; Brent, Andrew J; Brent, Bernadette; Walker, Jemma; Aiano, Felicity; Amin-Chowdhury, Zahin; Letley, Louise; Flood, Jessica; Jones, Samuel E I; Kall, Meaghan; Borrow, Ray; Linley, Ezra; Zambon, Maria; Poh, John; Lackenby, Angie; Ellis, Joanna; Amirthalingam, Gayatri; Brown, Kevin E; Ramsay, Mary E.
  • Ladhani SN; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Ireland G; Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group, St. George's University of London, London SW17 0RE, UK.
  • Baawuah F; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Beckmann J; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Okike IO; East London NHS Foundation Trust, 9 Allie Street, London E1 8DE, UK.
  • Ahmad S; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Garstang J; University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK, 201 London Road, Derby DE1 2TZ, UK.
  • Brent AJ; Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL, UK.
  • Brent B; Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Holt Street, Aston B7 4BN, UK.
  • Walker J; Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Old Road, Oxford OX3 7HE, UK.
  • Aiano F; Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD, UK.
  • Amin-Chowdhury Z; Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Old Road, Oxford OX3 7HE, UK.
  • Letley L; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Flood J; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Jones SEI; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Kall M; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Borrow R; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Linley E; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Zambon M; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Poh J; Public Health England, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK.
  • Lackenby A; Public Health England, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK.
  • Ellis J; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Amirthalingam G; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Brown KE; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
  • Ramsay ME; National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
EClinicalMedicine ; 37: 100948, 2021 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1272390
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Older children have higher SARS-CoV-2 infection rates than younger children. We investigated SARS-CoV-2 infection, seroprevalence and seroconversion rates in staff and students following the full reopening of all secondary schools in England.

METHODS:

Public Health England (PHE) invited secondary schools in six regions (East and West London, Hertfordshire, Derbyshire, Manchester and Birmingham) to participate in SARS-CoV-2 surveillance during the 2020/21 academic year. Participants had 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. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess independent risk factors for seropositivity and seroconversion.

FINDINGS:

Eighteen schools in six regions enrolled 2,209 participants, including 1,189 (53.8%) students and 1,020 (46.2%) staff. SARS-CoV-2 infection rates were not significantly different between students and staff in round one (5/948; [0.53%] vs. 2/876 [0.23%]; p = 0.46) or round two (10/948 [1.05%] vs. 7/886 [0.79%]; p = 0.63), and similar to national prevalence. None of four and 7/15 (47%) sequenced strains in rounds 1 and 2 were the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant. In round 1, antibody seropositivity was higher in students than staff (114/893 [12.8%] vs. 79/861 [9.2%]; p = 0.016), but similar in round 2 (117/893 [13.1%] vs.117/872 [13.3%]; p = 0.85), comparable to local community seroprevalence. Between the two rounds, 8.7% (57/652) staff and 6.6% (36/549) students seroconverted (p = 0.16).

INTERPRETATION:

In secondary schools, SARS-CoV-2 infection, seropositivity and seroconversion rates were similar in staff and students, and comparable to local community rates. Ongoing surveillance will be important for monitoring the impact of new variants in educational settings.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Cohort study / Observational study / Prognostic study Topics: Variants Language: English Journal: EClinicalMedicine Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: J.eclinm.2021.100948

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Cohort study / Observational study / Prognostic study Topics: Variants Language: English Journal: EClinicalMedicine Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: J.eclinm.2021.100948