Frequency of COVID-19 IgG Antibodies among Special Police Squad Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

Objective: To find out the sero-prevalence of COVID-19 IgG antibodies among policemen performing duties at high risk areas of Lahore, Pakistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional, observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Chughtai Lab Lahore from 20th to 30th May 2020. Methodology: One hundred and fifty-four young policemen (mean age 27.1 ±3.8 years) were included in the study after written consent. Squad officers who had any sign of acute respiratory infection were excluded from the study. The participants were asked to fill a questionnaire regarding nature of exposure with the infected cases, kind of personal protective equipment they are provided with and living arrangements. Three ml of blood samples were collected from the participants and immediately sent to the lab for analysis. COVID-19 IgG antibodies were analysed using chemiluminescence immunoassay method on Architect Ci8200 (Abbott). SPSS 23.0 was used for data analysis. Results: All participants were males and mean age was 27.1 ±3.8 years. Out of 154 squad members, 24 were reactive for COVID-19 IgG antibodies and performing duties at the areas of high virus exposure. None of COVID-19 IgG reactive cases exhibited symptoms and most of them performed duties at high risk areas with only masks provided as personal protective equipment. Only 10% of the participants who were exposed to confirmed cases of COVID-19 were found to have anti-COVID IgG. Conclusion: COVID-19 IgG antibody reactive cases may not show any symptoms. Police force is at high risk of exposure. Serosurveys can help to find the spread of infection in the community and aid in planning healthcare strategies.