Impact of international travels on seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among residents of Chelyabinsk city
- Authors: Kritsky I.S.1, Zurochka A.V.2, Zurochka V.A.2, Sarapultsev A.P.1,3
-
Affiliations:
- Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
- Federal Research Institute of Viral Infections “Virom”
- South Ural State University
- Issue: Vol 28, No 3 (2025)
- Pages: 687-694
- Section: SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/1028-7221/article/view/319920
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.46235/1028-7221-17216-IOI
- ID: 319920
Cite item
Full Text
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence is an important index of coronavirus infection incidence, especially among populations with different mobility levels. International travel may facilitate transmission of the virus and affect the level of herd immunity, but the extent of this influence remains poorly understood. The present study was conducted in Chelyabinsk from 27.10.2020 to 30.01.2023. 660 blood samples were analyzed for IgM antibodies, and 843 samples for IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 antigen in order to assess seropositivity rates of city residents depending on their recent international travel experience. Antibodies to coronavirus infection were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using Multiskan FC equipment and Vector-Best reagents. A questionnaire filled by the participants helped to establish the fact of travel and the countries visited. The results of this study showed a trend towards higher IgG seropositivity among individuals who had traveled internationally (p = 0.07), although statistical significance was not reached. The overall seroprevalence rate was higher for IgG (67.38%) compared to IgM (32.73%), thus, probably, suggesting a history of infection or vaccination in the cohort. The highest IgG seroprevalence was observed among persons who returned from Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Egypt. No statistically significant differences in seroprevalence were found between men and women. The results suggest a trend towards higher seroprevalence among the international travelers, thus being indicative for increased risk of infection during the trips. However, a lack of statistical significance requires further surveys in larger groups, as well as considering their vaccination status, seroconversion dynamics, disease time profile, and repeated testing. Despite these limitations, these results can be used to improve epidemiological surveillance measures and planning epidemiological measures in order to prevent COVID-19 and other respiratory infections, including the factor of international travelling.
Keywords
Full Text
##article.viewOnOriginalSite##About the authors
Igor S. Kritsky
Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Author for correspondence.
Email: igor81218@gmail.com
Postraduate Student
Russian Federation, EkaterinburgA. V. Zurochka
Federal Research Institute of Viral Infections “Virom”
Email: igor81218@gmail.com
PhD, MD (Medicine), Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Transmissive Viral Infections
Russian Federation, EkaterinburgV. A. Zurochka
Federal Research Institute of Viral Infections “Virom”
Email: igor81218@gmail.com
PhD, MD (Medicine), Senior Researcher, Laboratory of Transmissive Viral Infections
Russian Federation, EkaterinburgA. P. Sarapultsev
Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences; South Ural State University
Email: igor81218@gmail.com
PhD, MD (Biology), Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Immunopathophysiology; Director, Russian-Chinese Center of Susthemic Pathology
Russian Federation, Ekaterinburg; ChelyabinskReferences
- Крицкий И.С., Зурочка В.А., Hu D., Сарапульцев А.П. Оценка динамики изменения серопревалентности COVID-19 в различных социальных группах в период пандемии SARS-CoV-2 // Вестник Уральской медицинской академической науки, 2022. Т. 19, № 3. С. 304-314. [Kritsky I.S., Zurochka V.A., Hu D., Sarapultsev A.P. Evaluation of the dynamics of changes in COVID-19 seroprevalence in various social groups during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Vestnik Uralskoy meditsinskoy akademicheskoy nauki = Journal of Ural Medical Academic Science, 2022. Vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 304-314. (In Russ.)]
- Bou-Karroum L., Khabsa J., Jabbour M., Hilal N., Haidar Z., Abi Khalil P., Abdul Khalek R., Assaf J., Honein-AbouHaidar G., Abou Samra C., Hneiny L., Al-Awlaqi S., Hanefeld J., El-Jardali F., Akl E.A., El Bcheraoui C. Public health effects of travel-related policies on the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods systematic review. J. Infect., 2021, Vol. 83, no. 4, pp. 413-423.
- Chen L.H., Freedman D.O., Visser L.G. COVID-19 immunity passport to ease travel restrictions? J. Travel Med., 2020, Vol. 27, no. 5, taaa085. doi: 10.1093/jtm/taaa085.
- Chinazzi M., Davis J.T., Ajelli M., Gioannini C., Litvinova M., Merler S., Pastore Y Piontti A., Mu K., Rossi L., Sun K., Viboud C., Xiong X., Yu H., Halloran M.E., Longini Jr. I.M., Vespignani A. The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Science, 2020, Vol. 368, no. 6489, pp. 395-400.
- Farzanegan M.R., Gholipour H.F., Feizi M., Nunkoo R., Andargoli A.E. International tourism and outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19): a cross-country analysis. J. Travel Res., 2021, Vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 687-692.
- Hasan T., Lim H.L., Case J., Hueston L., Bag S., Dwyer D.E., O’Sullivan M.V. The utility of SARS-CoV-2-specific serology in COVID-19 diagnosis. Aust. N. Z. J. Public Health, 2021, Vol. 45, no. 6, pp. 616-621.
- Hou H., Wang T., Zhang B., Luo Y., Mao L., Wang F., Wu S., Sun Z. Detection of IgM and IgG antibodies in patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Clin. Transl. Immunol., 2020, Vol. 9, no. 5, e1136. doi: 10.1002/cti2.1136.
- Popova A.Y., Smirnov V.S., Andreeva E.E., Babura E.A., Balakhonov S.V., Bashketova N.S., Bugorkova S.A., Bulanov M.V., Valeullina N.N., Vetrov V.V., Goryaev D.V., Detkovskaya T.N., Ezhlova E.B., Zaitseva N.N., Istorik O.A., Kovalchuk I.V., Kozlovskikh D.N., Kombarova S.Y., Kurganova O.P., Lomovtsev A.E., Lukicheva L.A., Lyalina L.V., Melnikova A.A., Mikailova O.M., Noskov A.K., Noskova L.N., Oglezneva E.E., Osmolovskaya T.P., Patyashina M.A., Penkovskaya N.A., Samoilova L.V., Stepanova T.F., Trotsenko O.E., Totolian A.A. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence structure of the russian population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Viruses, 2021, Vol. 13, no. 8, 1648. doi: 10.3390/v13081648.
- Sarapultseva M., Hu D., Sarapultsev A. SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity among dental staff and the role of aspirating systems. JDR Clin. Transl. Res., 2021, Vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 132-138.
- Wells C.R., Sah P., Moghadas S.M., Pandey A., Shoukat A., Wang Y., Wang Z., Meyers L.A., Singer B.H., Galvani A.P. Impact of international travel and border control measures on the global spread of the novel 2019 coronavirus outbreak. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2020, Vol. 117, no. 13, pp. 7504-7509.
- Wong J., Abdul Aziz A.B.Z., Chaw L., Mahamud A., Griffith M.M., Lo Y.R., Naing L. High proportion of asymptomatic and presymptomatic COVID-19 infections in air passengers to Brunei. J. Travel Med., 2020, Vol. 27, no. 5 taaa066. doi: 10.1093/jtm/taaa066.
- Zurochka A., Dobrinina M., Zurochka V., Hu D., Solovyev A., Ryabova L., Kritsky I., Ibragimov R., Sarapultsev A. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in symptomatic individuals is higher than in persons who are at increased risk exposure: the results of the single-center, prospective, cross-sectional study. Vaccines, 2021, Vol. 9, no. 6, 627. doi: 10.3390/vaccines9060627.
