Seroprevalence of anti SARS CoV 2 IgG at the epidemic peak in French Guiana

Background SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence studies are crucial for clarifying dynamics in affected countries and determining the route that has already been achieved towards herd immunity. While Latin America has been heavily affected by the pandemic, only a few seroprevalence studies have been conducted there. Methods A cross-sectional survey was performed between 15 July 2020 and 23 July 2020 in 4 medical biology laboratories and 5 health centers of French Guiana, representing a period shortly after the epidemic peak. Samples were screened for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG directed against domain S1 of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using the anti-SARS-CoV-2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from Euroimmun. Results The overall seroprevalence was 15.4% [9.3%-24.4%] among 480 participants, ranging from 4.0% to 25.5% across the different municipalities. The seroprevalence did not differ according to gender (p=0.19) or age (p=0.51). Among SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals, we found that 24.6% [11.5%-45.2%] reported symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Conclusions Our findings revealed high levels of infection across the territory but a low number of resulting deaths, which can be explained by young population structure. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Clinical Trial NCT04490850 ### Funding Statement This study was supported by the National Research Agency, the European Regional Development Fund, the Regional Health Agency of French Guiana and the Pasteur Institute Coronavirus Task Force under EPI-COVID-19 grant agreement. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The study was approved by the CPP EST-III Ethical Research Committee (No.CPP 20.07.04-8827; ID-RCB 2020-A01826-33). Personal data processing for this study comply with the requirements of the reference methodology MR-001 established by the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) regarding data processing in health research. All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes Data are from the EPICOVID19 study belonging to Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux 75724 Paris Cedex 15 France. Access to data is restricted for legal reasons according to the French CNIL recommendations (Commission Nationale Informatique et Libertes) that require specific authorizations to transfer health individual data from one center to another. The data may be made available after obtaining approval from the French regulatory authority: CNIL, Commission Nationale Informatique et Libertes, 3 Place de Fontenoy TSA 80715 75334 PARIS CEDEX 07, France. Phone (33): 01 53 73 22 00. Request from data transfer can be sent to Clinical Core of the Center for Translational Science of Institut Pasteur, Paris, Tel : + 33 (0) 1.40.61.38.74; Fax : + 33 (0) 1.40.61.39.77;