ArticleDeutsches Arzteblatt international2021
SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Germany.
Article in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 seroassay sensitivity: a systematic review and modelling study.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2023Pooled it
- Contact behavior and serological evidence of influenza reinfection across three post-COVID-19 pandemic seasons in a nationwide German cohort.Infection · 2026Article
- Population-based prevalence and screening gaps of hepatitis C, B and D, Germany, 2020 to 2021.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2026Article
- Rapid Epidemiological Data Collection on Social Media for COVID-19: Comparative Study Between Online Surveys and Conventional Cohorts.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Observational
- 'Bern, get ready', BEready, a household-based cohort study for pandemic preparedness research in Switzerland: pilot study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Self-reported poliomyelitis vaccination and documentation in adults indicates high uptake: a digital German epidemic panel, December 2024.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The Global COVID-19 Pandemic Experience: Innovation Through Environmental Assessment and Seropositivity Surveillance.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
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- Feasibility of blood self-sampling with HemaSpot HF for Anti-Clostridium tetani Toxin IgG detection.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- National and sub-national sero-epidemiology of immunoglobulin G against SARS-CoV-2 in Iran in 2021.PloS one · 2025Article
- Post-viral symptoms and conditions are more frequent in COVID-19 than influenza, but not more persistent.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
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- Incident autoimmune diseases in association with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a matched cohort study.Clinical rheumatology · 2023Article
- Monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Prevalence of Antibodies in a Large, Repetitive Cross-Sectional Study of Blood Donors in Germany-Results from the SeBluCo Study 2020-2022.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The challenge of estimating the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 interventions - Toward an integrated economic and epidemiological approach.Economics and human biology · 2023Review
- Trajectories of Seroprevalence and Neutralizing Activity of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Southern Switzerland between July 2020 and July 2021: An Ongoing, Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Antibody Binding and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Binding Inhibition Is Significantly Reduced for Both the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron Variants.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2023Article
- Changing Patterns of SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence: A Snapshot among the General Population in Kuwait.Vaccines · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUntil now, information on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Germany has been based mainly on data from the public health offices. It may be assumed that these data do not include many cases of asymptomatic and mild infection.
methodsWe determined seroprevalence over the course of the pandemic in a sequential, multilocal seroprevalence study (MuSPAD). Study participants were recruited at random in seven administrative districts (Kreise) in Germany from July 2020 onward; each participant was tested at two different times 3-5 months apart. Test findings on blood samples were used to determine the missed-case rate of reported infections, the infection fatality rate (IFR), and the association between seropositivity and demographic, socio-economic, and health-related factors, as well as to evaluate the self-reported results of PCR and antigenic tests. The registration number of this study is DRKS00022335.
resultsAmong non-vaccinated persons, the seroprevalence from July to December 2020 was 1.3-2.8% and rose between February and May 2021 to 4.1-13.1%. In July 2021, 35% of tested persons in Chemnitz were not vaccinated, and the seroprevalence among these persons was 32.4% (07/2021). The surveillance detection ratio (SDR), i.e., the ratio between the true number of infections estimated from seroprevalence and the actual number or reported infections, varied among the districts included in the study from 2.2 to 5.1 up to December 2020 and from 1.3 to 2.9 up to June 2021, and subsequently declined. The IFR was in the range of 0.8% to 2.4% in all regions except Magdeburg, where a value of 0.3% was calculated for November 2020. A lower educational level was associated with a higher seropositivity rate, smoking with a lower seropositivity rate. On average, 1 person was infected for every 8.5 persons in quarantine.
conclusionSeroprevalence was low after the first wave of the pandemic but rose markedly during the second and third waves. The missed-case rate trended downward over the course of the pandemic.
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