Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37789877›Full record

ArticleInfluenza and other respiratory viruses2023

The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Malaysia: 7 August to 11 October 2020.

Zhuo-Lin Chong, Wan Shakira Rodzlan Hasani, Filza Noor Asari, Eida Nurhadzira Muhammad, Mohd Hatta Abdul Mutalip, Tania Gayle Robert Lourdes, Halizah Mat Rifin, Sarbhan Singh, Ravindran Thayan

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Influenza and other respiratory viruses, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 29% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Zhuo-Lin ChongInstitute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia Setia Alam Selangor Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0003-3621-7079
Wan Shakira Rodzlan HasaniDepartment of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences Universiti Sains Malaysia Kubang Kerian Kelantan Malaysia.
Filza Noor AsariInstitute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia Setia Alam Selangor Malaysia.
Eida Nurhadzira MuhammadInstitute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia Setia Alam Selangor Malaysia.
Mohd Hatta Abdul MutalipInstitute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia Setia Alam Selangor Malaysia.
Tania Gayle Robert LourdesInstitute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia Setia Alam Selangor Malaysia.
Halizah Mat RifinInstitute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia Setia Alam Selangor Malaysia.
Sarbhan SinghInstitute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health Ministry of Health Malaysia Setia Alam Selangor Malaysia.
Ravindran ThayanInstitute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health Ministry of Health Malaysia Setia Alam Selangor Malaysia.
Ministry of Health · MYUniversiti Sains Malaysia · MY

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until mid-October 2020, Malaysia recorded ~15,000 confirmed cases. But there could be undiagnosed cases due mainly to asymptomatic infections. Seroprevalence studies can better quantify underlying infection from SARS-CoV-2 by identifying humoral antibodies against the virus. This study was the first to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in  Malaysia's general population, as well as the proportion of asymptomatic and undiagnosed infections. Methods: This cross-sectional seroprevalence study with a two-stage stratified random cluster sampling design included 5,131 representative community dwellers in Malaysia aged ≥1 year. Data collection lasted from 7 August to 11 October 2020 involving venous blood sampling and interviews for history of COVID-19 symptoms and diagnosis. Previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was defined as screened positive using the Wantai SARS-CoV-2 Total Antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmed positive using the GenScript SARS-CoV-2 surrogate Virus Neutralization Test. We performed a complex sampling design analysis, calculating sample weights considering probabilities of selection, non-response rate and post-stratification weight. Results: The overall weighted prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 0.49% (95%CI 0.28-0.85) (N = 150,857). Among the estimated population with past infection, around 84.1% (95%CI 58.84-95.12) (N = 126 826) were asymptomatic, and 90.1% (95%CI 67.06-97.58) (N = 135 866) were undiagnosed. Conclusions: Our study revealed a low pre-variant and pre-vaccination seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Malaysia up to mid-October 2020, with a considerable proportion of asymptomatic and undiagnosed cases. This led to subsequent adoption of SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid test kits to increase case detection rate and to reduce time to results and infection control measures.

Indexed as

COVID-19Antibodies, ViralCross-Sectional StudiesHumansMalaysiaPandemicsSARS-CoV-2Seroepidemiologic StudiesAntibodies, ViralCOVID‐19MalaysiaSARS‐CoV‐2seroprevalenceWHO‐UNITY studies

Identifiers

PMID37789877
PMCPMC10542612
OpenAlexW4387229503

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.