Serology- and PCR-based cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults in a successfully contained early hotspot (CoMoLo study), Germany, May to June 2020
Claudia Hövener, Hannelore Neuhauser, Angelika Schaffrath Rosario, Markus Busch, Martin Schlaud, Robert Hoffmann, Antje Gößwald, Carmen Koschollek, Jens Hoebel, Jennifer Allen, Antje Haack-Erdmann, Stefan Brockmann, Thomas Ziese, Andreas Nitsche, Janine Michel, Sebastian Haller, Hendrik Wilking, Osamah Hamouda, Victor M. Corman, Christian Drosten, Lars Schaade, Lothar H. Wieler, CoMoLo Study Group, Thomas Lampert
Abstract
Three months after a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kupferzell, Germany, a population-based study (n = 2,203) found no RT-PCR-positives. IgG-ELISA seropositivity with positive virus neutralisation tests was 7.7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 6.5-9.1) and 4.3% with negative neutralisation tests. We estimate 12.0% (95% CI: 10.4-14.0%) infected adults (24.5% asymptomatic), six times more than notified. Full hotspot containment confirms the effectiveness of prompt protection measures. However, 88% naïve adults are still at high COVID-19 risk.