Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Colombo Municipality region, Sri Lanka

BackgroundAs the Municipality Council area in Colombo (CMC) experienced the highest number of cases until end of January 2021, in Sri Lanka, we carried out a serosurvey prior to initiation of the vaccination program to understand the extent of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. MethodsSARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was determined in 2547 individuals between the ages of 10 to 86 years, by the Wantai total antibody ELISA. We also compared to seroprevalence using the haemagglutination test (HAT) to evaluate its usefulness in carrying out serosurveys. ResultsThe overall seropositivity rate was 24.46%, while seropositivity by HAT was 18.9%. Although the SARS-CoV-2 infection detection rates by PCR were highest in the population between the ages of 20 to 60 years of age, the seropositivity rates were equal among all age groups. The seropositivity rate was highest in the 10 to 20 age group (34.03%), whereas the PCR positivity rates was 9.8%. Differences in the PCR positivity rates and seropositivity rates were also seen in 60- to 70-year-olds (8.9% vs 30.4%) and in individuals >70 year (4.1% vs 1.2%). The seropositivity rates of the females was 29.7% (290/976), which was significantly higher (p<0.002) than in males 21.2% (333/1571). ConclusionsA high seroprevalence rate (24.5%) was seen in all age groups in the CMC suggesting that a high level of transmission was seen during this area. The PCR positivity rates, appear to underestimate the true extent of the outbreak and the age groups which were infected.