Investigation of the sero-epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases and common viral infections in French populations using a multiplex serological assay

Vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) and common viral infections (CVIs) pose substantial public health challenges. Despite data collected through routine vaccination programs and through hospital-based case reporting systems, the understanding of population-level immunity to VPDs and CVIs remains limited. To address this challenge, this study focuses on the development and application of a high-throughput multiplex serological assay to assess IgG levels against a large panel of eight VPDs (e.g., tetanus, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella) and 18 CVIs that typically occur in early childhood (e.g., adenovirus, cytomegalovirus, respiratory syncytial virus). A cross-sectional study of 2,032 serum samples from French children and adults was used to optimize and validate a 47-plex assay. These antibody measurements allowed us to enhance our understanding of immunity, vaccination and booster dose effect, as well as antibody waning over time. Preliminary results demonstrate the importance of age-stratified IgG level measurements, revealing notable variation in seroprevalence patterns among different age groups. These findings suggest that there are variations in immunity and exposure to the targeted pathogens across these groups. These findings highlight the potential of high-throughput multiplex serology assays for routine surveillance of common viral infections and assessment of vaccine coverage. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This work was supported by the the French government: Integrative Biology of Emerging Infectious Diseases (Investissement d Avenir grant ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID) and INCEPTION programs (Investissement d Avenir grant ANR-16-CONV-0005), and the "URGENCE COVID-19" fundraising campaign of Institut Pasteur. Milieu Interieur was funded by the French governments Invest in the Future programme: reference ANR-10-LABX-69-01. ### 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: Milieu Interieur The Comite de Protection des Personnes: Ouest 6 of the French Agence Nationale de Securite du Medicament gave ethical approval for this work. The clinical study was approved by the Comite de Protection des Personnes Ouest 6 on June 13, 2012, and by the French Agence Nationale de Securite du Medicament on June 22nd, 2012. The study is sponsored by Institut Pasteur (Pasteur ID RCB Number: 2012 A00238 35) and was conducted as a single center study without any investigational product. The original protocol was registered under ClinicalTrials.gov (study# [NCT01699893][1]). The samples and data used in this study were formally established as the Milieu Interieur biocollection ([NCT03905993][2]), with approvals by the Comite de Protection des Personnes Sud Mediterranee and the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL) on April 11, 2018. SeroPed The Clinical Research Coordination Office of Institut Pasteur waived ethical approval for this work. The samples analysed in this study were leftovers from routine medical blood sample processing in French hospital laboratories. They were processed in accordance with existing regulations and guidelines of the French Commission for Data Protection (Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Liberties). Sera were completely anonymous, and it was not possible to return to individual patients files. According to the French law, no informed consent is required for processing such samples. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. 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, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT01699893&atom=%2Fmedrxiv%2Fearly%2F2024%2F04%2F27%2F2024.04.26.24306413.atom [2]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT03905993&atom=%2Fmedrxiv%2Fearly%2F2024%2F04%2F27%2F2024.04.26.24306413.atom