Highlighted prospects of an IgM/IgG antibodies test in identifying individuals with asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection

Abstract

Context.-Covert severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections could be seeding new outbreaks. How to identify asymptomatic SARS-CoV- 2 infections early has become a global focus. Objective.-To explore the roles of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies detection, nucleic acid tests, and computed tomography (CT) scanning to identify asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Design.-The clinical data of 389 individuals with close contacts, including in general characteristics, SARS-CoV-2 etiology, serum-specific IgM and IgG antibody detection and CT imaging results, were systematically analyzed. Results.-The present study showed that only 89 of 389 individuals with close contacts were positive after the first nucleic acid test, while 300 individuals were still negative after 2 nucleic acid tests. Among the 300 individuals, 75 did not have pneumonia, and the other 225 individuals had pulmonary imaging changes. A total of 143 individuals were eventually diagnosed as having asymptomatic infection through IgM antibody and IgG antibody detection. The sensitivity, specificity, and false-negative rate of IgM and IgG antibody detection were approximately 97.1% (347 of 357), 95.3% (204 of 214), and 4.67% (10 of 214), respectively. It also indicated that during approximately 2 weeks, most individuals were both IgM positive and IgG positive, accounting for 68.57% (72 of 105). During approximately 3 weeks, the proportion of IgM-positive and IgG-positive individuals decreased to 8.57% (9 of 105), and the proportion of IgM-negative and IgG-positive individuals increased to 76.19% (80 of 105). Conclusions.-There are highlighted prospects of IgM/ IgG antibody detection as a preferred method in identifying the individuals with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially combined with nucleic acid tests and pulmonary CT scanning.