UAMS released COVID-19 antibody test results last year, showing that 7.4% of Arkansas people have antibodies to the virus, and there are huge differences between race and ethnic groups.
A statewide COVID-19 antibody study led by UAMS found that by the end of 2020, 7.4% of Arkansas people have antibodies to the virus, but there are big differences between race and ethnic groups. UAMS researchers posted their findings to the public database medRxiv (Medical Archives) this week.
The study included the analysis of more than 7,500 blood samples from children and adults across the state. It will be conducted in three rounds from July to December 2020. This work was supported by $3.3 million in federal coronavirus assistance, which was subsequently allocated by the Arkansas Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Steering Committee, which was created by Governor Asa Hutchinson.
Unlike diagnostic tests, the COVID-19 antibody test reviews the history of the immune system. A positive antibody test means that the person has been exposed to the virus and developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, called COVID-19.
“An important finding of the study is that there are significant differences in the rates of COVID-19 antibodies detected in specific racial and ethnic groups,” said Laura James, M.D., lead researcher of the study and director of the UAMS Translational Institute. “Hispanics are almost 19 times more likely to have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies than whites. During the study, blacks are 5 times more likely to have antibodies than whites.”
She added that these findings emphasize the need to understand the factors that influence SARS-CoV-2 infection in underrepresented minority groups.
The UAMS team collected blood samples from children and adults. The first wave (July/August 2020) revealed the low incidence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, with an average adult rate of 2.6%. However, by November/December, 7.4% of adult samples were positive.
The blood samples are collected from individuals who are visiting a medical clinic for reasons other than COVID and who are not known to be infected with COVID-19. The positive rate of antibodies reflects the COVID-19 cases in the general population.
Josh Kennedy, MD, pediatric allergist and immunologist UAMS, who helped lead the study, said that although the overall positive rate in late December was relatively low, these findings are important because they indicate that no COVID-19 infection has been detected before.
“Our findings emphasize the need for everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” Kennedy said. “Few people in the state are immune to natural infections, so vaccination is the key to getting Arkansas out of the pandemic.”
The team found that there was almost no difference in antibody rates between rural and urban residents, which surprised researchers who originally thought that rural residents might have less exposure.
The antibody test was developed by Dr. Karl Boehme, Dr. Craig Forrest, and Kennedy of UAMS. Boehme and Forrest are associate professors in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the School of Medicine.
The UAMS School of Public Health helped identify study participants through their contact tracking call center. In addition, samples were obtained from the UAMS regional project site in Arkansas, the Arkansas Health Care Federation, and the Arkansas Department of Health.
Fay W. Boozman Fay W. Boozman School of Public Health and School of Medicine faculty participated in the epidemiological and statistical evaluation of the data, including the Dean of the School of Public Health Dr. Mark Williams, Dr. Benjamin Amick and Dr. Wendy Nembhard, and Dr. Ruofei Du. And Jing Jin, MPH.
The research represents a major collaboration of UAMS, including the Translational Research Institute, Regional Projects, Rural Research Network, School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, UAMS Northwest Territory Campus, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Arkansas Department of Health, and Arkansas Healthcare Foundation.
The Institute for Translational Research received TL1 TR003109 grant support through the National Translational Science Promotion Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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Post time: Aug-09-2021