Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV- 2 in children of school-going age in district Swabi, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Earlier estimates of SARS-CoV- 2 do not accurately account for the extent of undiagnosed infections in children, who typically experience mild or asymptomatic disease. The purpose of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV- 2 antibodies in children from District Swabi, one of the populous districts of Pakistan, and to identify symptoms most frequently associated with seropositivity. Methodology: We used ELISA to test for the presence of antibodies, IgM and IgG, in blood samples collected from 246 children of school-going age (5-16 years old) selected randomly from the district of Swabi, Pakistan. This study was approved by Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Ethical Board, and Advanced Studies Review Board. Data were collected on a purposefully built questionnaire. Result(s) Overall, 2.0% of our participants were seropositive for IgM, whereas 23.1% were seropositive for IgG. Older age, female gender, and contact history were significantly associated with higher seropositivity. Symptoms associated with seropositivity were fever (98.0%), cough (90.0%), sore throat (79.0%), coryza (68.0%), myalgia (61.0%), loss of sense of smell and taste (49.0%), and vomiting or diarrhoea (8.0%). Although 77.6% of our IgG seropositive participants recalled experiencing flu-like symptoms, none of the participants in this study had visited the doctor or were tested for SARS-COV- 2. We found IgG titres to be significantly higher in symptomatic children. Conclusion(s) The number of undiagnosed infections in children may be substantially larger than the official accounts. Sparse data are available regarding coronavirus disease in children, particularly in low middle-income countries (LMIC). The most frequently symptoms were fever, cough, sore throat, coreza, myalgia, loss of sense of smell and taste and lastly vomiting and diarrhoea. Serological studies provide valuable insight into the immunological status of a population, and can prove vital when considering future strategies.