Seroprevalence SARS-CoV-2 among the academic population of Universitas Gadjah Mada Yogyakarta

Background: Many academicians in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, face the increased potential for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission in academic populations. Seroprevalence data can represent the number of infections showing the proportion of people exposed and those potentially immune to the virus and provide evidence for public health policymakers. The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the academic population of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) remains unknown, raising concerns about the immune status among the academic population. A cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence rate of SARS-COV-2 infection in the UGM academic population. Methods: We conducted a descriptive study of 406 subjects of the UGM academic population. In the cross-sectional analysis of data collected, we performed serological testing for SARS-COV-2 infection for random academicians willing to participate voluntarily. Subjects were categorized as high and low-risk based on SARS-CoV-2 exposure and work history. Data normality was tested with Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Proportion differences were analyzed with chi-squared tests with a significance set as P<0.05. Result: 406 subjects were included in this study, with most of the subjects (55.91%) being female. The majority of the subjects were students (82.27%). Most of the subjects were categorized as high-risk (51.72%). Eight subjects (1.97%) had reactive antibody testing. The prevalence of SARS-COV-2 infection was higher in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group (3.57% vs. 0.48%; p=0.01). The high-risk subjects had 7.5 times more incidence of reactive antibody results than low-risk subjects based on the prevalence ratio. Conclusion; The seroprevalence of SARS-COV-2 immunity in the general academic population of the Universitas Gadjah Mada is 1.97%. These low proportions reflect that more strategies are needed to protect the high-risk group against SARSCoV-2 exposure.