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Seroprevalence of prior infections of common human coronaviruses in children in Southwestern Pennsylvania and the associations between race, sex and age on seropositivity

Ji, Lawrence (2022) Seroprevalence of prior infections of common human coronaviruses in children in Southwestern Pennsylvania and the associations between race, sex and age on seropositivity. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

OC43, HKU1, NL63, and 229E are human coronaviruses (HCoVs) endemic to the United States and can cause mild and sometimes severe disease. This project investigated seroprevalence of these four coronaviruses in children in Southwestern Pennsylvania and explored associations between race, age, and sex on seropositivity.

Residual blood samples were collected from children under the age of 16 who visited the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for routine clinical care. ELISA assays were run on samples to determine optical density (OD) levels. The OD cutoff for positive and negative cases were determined by observing where the divergence between high optical density and low optical density lies. Using this cutoff, the prevalence of prior infection was determined for each virus.

The prevalence of HCoVs between April 27 and July 3, 2020, was 79.46% for HKU1, 61.61% for 229E, 80.36% for OC43, and 83.93% for NL63. For every one year increase in age patients are 35% less likely to have antibodies consistent with prior infection for NL63, 30% more likely to have antibodies consistent with prior infection for 229E, and 18% less likely to have antibodies consistent with prior infection for HKU1. For every year increase in patient age there is a 0.07 increase in optical density when detecting for IgG against 229E spike proteins and a 0.06 increase when detecting for IgG against NL63 spike proteins. The results demonstrate children are more likely to be positive for NL63 and 229E as they age. There was no significant association between race and sex on seropositivity and optical density. The findings of this project can inform health practitioners and public health officials on the circulation of common human coronaviruses in the region. Common human coronaviruses cause more severe symptoms in children and thus it is useful to surveil the epidemiology of coronaviruses in these groups.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Ji, Lawrenceljj20@pitt.eduljj20
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairFriedman, Mackey R.mrf9@pitt.edumrf9
Committee MemberMarques, Ernesto T. A.marques@pitt.edumarques
Committee MemberHo, Ken S.hok2@upmc.edu
Date: 1 July 2022
Date Type: Publication
Defense Date: 23 May 2022
Approval Date: 1 July 2022
Submission Date: 12 June 2022
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Number of Pages: 37
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: School of Public Health > Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
Degree: MPH - Master of Public Health
Thesis Type: Master's Thesis
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: OC43 HKU1 NL63 229E coronavirus
Date Deposited: 01 Jul 2022 19:24
Last Modified: 01 Jul 2022 19:24
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/43124

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