Persistence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Six Months after Infection in an Outbreak with Five Hundred COVID-19 Cases in Borriana (Spain): A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

In March 2020, several mass gathering events were related to the Falles festival in Borriana (Spain), resulting in a 536 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases outbreak among participants. This article estimates anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies persistence six months after and factors associated with antibody response. A prospective population-based cohort study was carried out by the Public Health Centre of Castellon and the Emergency and Clinical Analysis and Microbiology Services of Hospital de la Plana in Vila-real. In October 2020, a seroepidemiologic study was used to estimate the persistence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies against nucleocapsid protein (N) by an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) was implemented. We enrolled 484 (90.2%) of the 536 members of the initial outbreak cohort and detected persistent antibodies in 479 (99%) without reinfection episodes. Five participants had a negative antibody test. Factors associated with a negative result were a lower body mass index (BMI), and less contact with other COVID-19 cases. Among the 469 participants with two ECLIA tests, 96 (20.5%) had an increase of antibodies and 373 (79.5%) a decline. Increased antibodies were associated with older age, higher BMI, more severe illness, and low current smokers. Our results show that after a COVID-19 infection, a high proportion of cases maintain detectable anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.