Evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 positivity ratio and upper respiratory tract viral load among asymptomatic individuals screened before hospitalization or surgery in Flanders, Belgium.

<h4>Introduction</h4>The incidence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the Belgian community is mainly estimated based on test results of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-like symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate the evo...

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Autores principales:	Laura Heireman, Steven Abrams, Peggy Bruynseels, Reinoud Cartuyvels, Lize Cuypers, Pieter De Schouwer, Wim Laffut, Katrien Lagrou, Niel Hens, Erwin Ho, Elizaveta Padalko, Marijke Reynders, Sarah Vandamme, Nathalie Van der Moeren, Walter Verstrepen, Philippe Willems, Reinout Naesens
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/dd1f9be0a3e6485bbf02f4dd7242c8dc
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:dd1f9be0a3e6485bbf02f4dd7242c8dc2021-12-02T20:16:22ZEvaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 positivity ratio and upper respiratory tract viral load among asymptomatic individuals screened before hospitalization or surgery in Flanders, Belgium.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0259908https://doaj.org/article/dd1f9be0a3e6485bbf02f4dd7242c8dc2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259908https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Introduction</h4>The incidence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the Belgian community is mainly estimated based on test results of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-like symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity ratio and distribution of viral loads within a cohort of asymptomatic patients screened prior hospitalization or surgery, stratified by age category.<h4>Materials/methods</h4>We retrospectively studied data on SARS-CoV-2 real-time RT-PCR detection in respiratory tract samples of asymptomatic patients screened pre-hospitalization or pre-surgery in nine Belgian hospitals located in Flanders over a 12-month period (1 April 2020-31 March 2021).<h4>Results</h4>In total, 255925 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test results and 2421 positive results for which a viral load was reported, were included in this study. An unweighted overall SARS-CoV-2 real-time RT-PCR positivity ratio of 1.27% was observed with strong spatiotemporal differences. SARS-CoV-2 circulated predominantly in 80+ year old individuals across all time periods except between the first and second COVID-19 wave and in 20-30 year old individuals before the second COVID-19 wave. In contrast to the first wave, a significantly higher positivity ratio was observed for the 20-40 age group in addition to the 80+ age group compared to the other age groups during the second wave. The median viral load follows a similar temporal evolution as the positivity rate with an increase ahead of the second wave and highest viral loads observed for 80+ year old individuals.<h4>Conclusion</h4>There was a high SARS-CoV-2 circulation among asymptomatic patients with a predominance and highest viral loads observed in the elderly. Moreover, ahead of the second COVID-19 wave an increase in median viral load was noted with the highest overall positivity ratio observed in 20-30 year old individuals, indicating they could have been the hidden drivers of this wave.Laura HeiremanSteven AbramsPeggy BruynseelsReinoud CartuyvelsLize CuypersPieter De SchouwerWim LaffutKatrien LagrouNiel HensErwin HoElizaveta PadalkoMarijke ReyndersSarah VandammeNathalie Van der MoerenWalter VerstrepenPhilippe WillemsReinout NaesensPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 11, p e0259908 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Laura Heireman Steven Abrams Peggy Bruynseels Reinoud Cartuyvels Lize Cuypers Pieter De Schouwer Wim Laffut Katrien Lagrou Niel Hens Erwin Ho Elizaveta Padalko Marijke Reynders Sarah Vandamme Nathalie Van der Moeren Walter Verstrepen Philippe Willems Reinout Naesens Evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 positivity ratio and upper respiratory tract viral load among asymptomatic individuals screened before hospitalization or surgery in Flanders, Belgium.
description	<h4>Introduction</h4>The incidence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the Belgian community is mainly estimated based on test results of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-like symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity ratio and distribution of viral loads within a cohort of asymptomatic patients screened prior hospitalization or surgery, stratified by age category.<h4>Materials/methods</h4>We retrospectively studied data on SARS-CoV-2 real-time RT-PCR detection in respiratory tract samples of asymptomatic patients screened pre-hospitalization or pre-surgery in nine Belgian hospitals located in Flanders over a 12-month period (1 April 2020-31 March 2021).<h4>Results</h4>In total, 255925 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test results and 2421 positive results for which a viral load was reported, were included in this study. An unweighted overall SARS-CoV-2 real-time RT-PCR positivity ratio of 1.27% was observed with strong spatiotemporal differences. SARS-CoV-2 circulated predominantly in 80+ year old individuals across all time periods except between the first and second COVID-19 wave and in 20-30 year old individuals before the second COVID-19 wave. In contrast to the first wave, a significantly higher positivity ratio was observed for the 20-40 age group in addition to the 80+ age group compared to the other age groups during the second wave. The median viral load follows a similar temporal evolution as the positivity rate with an increase ahead of the second wave and highest viral loads observed for 80+ year old individuals.<h4>Conclusion</h4>There was a high SARS-CoV-2 circulation among asymptomatic patients with a predominance and highest viral loads observed in the elderly. Moreover, ahead of the second COVID-19 wave an increase in median viral load was noted with the highest overall positivity ratio observed in 20-30 year old individuals, indicating they could have been the hidden drivers of this wave.
format	article
author	Laura Heireman Steven Abrams Peggy Bruynseels Reinoud Cartuyvels Lize Cuypers Pieter De Schouwer Wim Laffut Katrien Lagrou Niel Hens Erwin Ho Elizaveta Padalko Marijke Reynders Sarah Vandamme Nathalie Van der Moeren Walter Verstrepen Philippe Willems Reinout Naesens
author_facet	Laura Heireman Steven Abrams Peggy Bruynseels Reinoud Cartuyvels Lize Cuypers Pieter De Schouwer Wim Laffut Katrien Lagrou Niel Hens Erwin Ho Elizaveta Padalko Marijke Reynders Sarah Vandamme Nathalie Van der Moeren Walter Verstrepen Philippe Willems Reinout Naesens
author_sort	Laura Heireman
title	Evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 positivity ratio and upper respiratory tract viral load among asymptomatic individuals screened before hospitalization or surgery in Flanders, Belgium.
title_short	Evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 positivity ratio and upper respiratory tract viral load among asymptomatic individuals screened before hospitalization or surgery in Flanders, Belgium.
title_full	Evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 positivity ratio and upper respiratory tract viral load among asymptomatic individuals screened before hospitalization or surgery in Flanders, Belgium.
title_fullStr	Evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 positivity ratio and upper respiratory tract viral load among asymptomatic individuals screened before hospitalization or surgery in Flanders, Belgium.
title_full_unstemmed	Evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 positivity ratio and upper respiratory tract viral load among asymptomatic individuals screened before hospitalization or surgery in Flanders, Belgium.
title_sort	evaluation of the sars-cov-2 positivity ratio and upper respiratory tract viral load among asymptomatic individuals screened before hospitalization or surgery in flanders, belgium.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/dd1f9be0a3e6485bbf02f4dd7242c8dc
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Evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 positivity ratio and upper respiratory tract viral load among asymptomatic individuals screened before hospitalization or surgery in Flanders, Belgium.

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