Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Antibody Kinetics, Seroreversion, and Implications for Seroepidemiologic Studies
Michael A. Loesche, Elizabeth W. Karlson, Opeyemi Talabi, Guohai Zhou, Natalie Boutin, Rachel Atchley, Gideon Loevinsohn, Jun Bai Park Chang, Mohammad Adrian Hasdianda, Adetoun Okenla, Elizabeth L Sampson, Haley Schram, Karen Magsipoc, Kirsten Goodman, Lauren Donahue, Maureen MacGowan, Lewis A. Novack, Petr Jarolı́m, Lindsey R. Baden, Eric J. Nilles
Abstract
E stimating the incidence of infections caused by SARS-CoV-2 that are frequently asymptomatic is challenging when using routine passive surveillance methods. Antibodies can provide a record of previous infection, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, and serologic surveys that measure antibodies across populations are routinely used for a variety of pathogens and are believed to provide key insights into the epidemiology and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (1-3). However, antibody contraction and seroreversion (loss of previously documented antibodies) may lead to false-negative results, a potential issue as we move into the third year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (4).