Open AccessPost lockdown COVID-19 seroprevalence and circulation at the time of delivery, France
Author(s) -
Jérémie Mattern,
Christelle VauloupFellous,
Hoda Zakaria,
Alexandra Benachi,
Julie Carrara,
Alexandra Letourneau,
Nadège Bourgeois-Nicolaos,
Danièle De Luca,
Florence DoucetPopulaire,
Alexandre J. Vivanti
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0240782
Subject(s) - seroprevalence , medicine , pandemic , myalgia , population , serology , pregnancy , pediatrics , covid-19 , demography , immunology , environmental health , antibody , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , sociology , biology , genetics
Background To fight the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown has been decreed in many countries worldwide. The impact of pregnancy as a severity risk factor is still debated, but strict lockdown measures have been recommended for pregnant women. Objectives To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on the seroprevalence and circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in a maternity ward in an area that has been significantly affected by the virus. Study design Prospective study at the Antoine Béclère Hospital maternity ward (Paris area, France) from May 4 (one week before the end of lockdown) to May 31, 2020 (three weeks after the end of lockdown). All patients admitted to the delivery room during this period were offered a SARS-CoV-2 serology test as well concomitant SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR on one nasopharyngeal sample. Results A total of 249 women were included. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was 8%. The RT-PCR positive rate was 0.5%. 47.4% of the SARS-CoV-2-IgG-positive pregnant women never experienced any symptoms. A history of symptoms during the epidemic, such as fever (15.8%), myalgia (36.8%) and anosmia (31.6%), was suggestive of previous infection. Conclusions Three weeks after the end of French lockdown, SARS-CoV-2 infections were scarce in our region. A very high proportion of SARS-CoV-2-IgG-negative pregnant women, which is comparable to that of the general population, must be taken into consideration in the event of a resurgence of the pandemic. The traces of a past active circulation of the virus in this fragile population during the spring wave should encourage public health authorities to take specific measures for this independent at-risk group, in order to reduce viral circulation in pregnant patients.