Comparing definitions of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a prospective household transmission study
This methodological study shows that relying on seroconversion is not adequate in high sero-prevalence settings and symptom-based approaches disregard asymptomatic cases. Approaches accounting for substantial titre increases between two antibody measurements reliably identified infections regardless of seroconversion and symptoms in a longitudinal serological assessment. This method could be useful for other pathogens, where asymptomatic disease and reinfections are common.
Authors
- Bianca Klee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5453-7207)
- Christine Dierks (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9554-0912)
- Michael Gekle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1581-8767)
- Simone Hettmer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1709-4448)
- Jonas Rosendahl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4513-0506)
- Thomas Frese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9745-5690)
- Sophie Diexer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2498-8458)
- Jessica I. Hoell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5532-9845)
- Mascha Binder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0663-3004)
- Kristin Meyer-Schlinkmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3194-068X)
- Stefan Moritz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9503-9642)
- Rafael Mikolajczyk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1271-7204)
- Irene Moor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3245-5176)
- Jonas Frost
- Cornelia Gottschick
Institutions
- Luther University (KR)
- University Hospital of Basel (CH)
- Laboratory Krone (DE)
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Infection and Public Health
- Published
- 2025-11-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2025.103069
- Primary Topic
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00