Prevalence and Classes of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among COVID-19 Suspected Patients who Attended a Health Care Setting in Sana’a, Yemen

Aims: This study investigates SARSCoV-2 antibody prevalence and classes among COVID-19 suspected patients in Sana’a, Yemen. Antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection remains to be fully elucidated. Currently, no reports on SARS-CoV-2 antibody response from Yemen are available.
Study Design: This cross-sectional study investigates SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence and classes among COVID-19 suspected patients.
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in Sana’a the capital of the Republic of Yemen from June 2020 through January 2021.
Methodology: Serological investigation for Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests was conducted for 259 suspected COVID-19 patients who attended a health care facility for antibody testing to confirm the diagnosis on C.
Results: The mean age was 40.8 ±16.6 years. Of all subjects, 180 (69.5%) were males and 79 (30.5%) were females, 73% were < 50 years of age. A total of 133 (51.4%) had at least one anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody class, 6 (2.3%) had isolated IgM, 80 (30.9%) had concomitant IgM and IgG and 49 (18.9%) had isolated IgG. Only the seropositivity of isolated anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG significantly (p=0.002) differs among various age groups. There was a significantly higher (p=0.017) IgM seropositivity among females than among males.
Conclusions: Among subjects with suspected COVID-19, > 30% had concomitant IgM and IgG with a minority having isolated IgM or IgG suggesting concurrent or close seroconversion time of both antibody classes. In addition, around 50% of subjects were SARS-CoV-2 seropositive suggestion low SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion and consequently low community seroprevalence. An antibody dynamic study based on will characteristics of COVID-19 patients is required. Also, a community-based seroprevalence study based on the detection of a combination of IgM, IgG, and IgA remains essential to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Yemen.