SARS-CoV2 pandemic: SARS-CoV2 seroprevalence and impact on HIV suppression in PLWH

Background: Lockdown, as a strategy to control SARS-CoV2 pandemic, has been implemented in several countries including Italy Modena HIV Clinic shut down from 24 February to 4 May 2020 The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of SARS-CoV2 positive serology among PLWH and to investigate the impact of the pandemic on HIV virological control in this population Materials and methods: SARS-CoV2 serological assays were performed in PLWH attending Modena HIV Clinic after 4 May 2020, as part of HIV follow-up which includes HIV viral load and CD4 + assessment as well HIV virological blips were defined as HIV RNA > 40 copies/mL after two consecutive undetectable HIV RNA in previous assays Serological tests of the general population were obtained from local hospital laboratory A descriptive analysis was done to address differences between groups: continuous variables were compared using non-parametric analysis (Mann-Whitney), while categorical variables were compared using chi-square test The level of statistical significance was set for p-value less than 0 05 Multivariate analysis was performed using stepwise logistic regression method Results: Until 17 June 2020 a total of 52 072 serological assays were obtained from 30 286 people Four hundred and ninety-six (1 6%) were performed in PLWH, thus the 28 7% (496/1733) of the whole Modena HIV cohort was tested SARS-CoV2 serological tests were positive in 1577 people (5 2%), 17 (3 4%) in PLWH and 1560 (5 2%) in HIV-negative people, respectively (p = 0 072;chi-square test) Regarding logistic multivariate analysis, age (OR 1 007;95% CI 1 004 to 1 010;p < 0 001) and foreign nationality (OR 1 070;95% CI 1 181 to 1 591;p < 0 001) were the only determinants for being SARS-CoV2 seropositive, while HIV serological status was not associated (OR 0 627, 95% CI 0 385 to 1 021;p = 0 061) Virological blips were observed in 3 7% (15/406) of patients in cART One patient stopped treatment and the remaining had virological blips < 1000 copies/mL (range 41 to 225 copies/mL);none of them was SARSCoV2 positive Conclusions: Our data show no statistically significant difference in SARS-CoV2 seroprevalence between HIV-positive and HIV-negative people Still, the increase in viral blips is worrisome, as it may reflect decreased adherence to cART or difficult drug supplying due to lockdown