Abstract

Background

Significant variability exists in the application of infection control policy throughout the US Army initial entry training environment. To generate actionable information for the prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)/coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission among new recruits, active enhanced surveillance was conducted for evidence of and exposure to SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19.

Methods

We serially tested recruits with a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) COVID-19 and/or total antibody to SARS-CoV-2 tests at days 0, 14, and week 10 upon arrival for basic combat training at a location in the Southern United States.

Results

Among 1403 recruits who were enrolled over a 6-week period from August 25 through October 11, 2020, 84 recruits tested positive by RT-PCR, with more than half (55%, 46/84) testing positive at arrival and almost two-thirds (63%, 53/84) also testing seropositive at arrival. Similarly, among an overall 146 recruits who tested seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 during the period of observation, a majority (86%) tested seropositive at arrival; no hospitalizations were observed among seropositive recruits, and antibody response increased at week 10.

Conclusions

These findings that suggest serological testing may complement current test-based measures and provide another tool to incorporate in COVID-19 mitigation measures among trainees in the US Army.

Details

Title
Serological and RT-PCR Surveillance for COVID-19 in an Asymptomatic US Army Trainee Population
Author
Hakre, Shilpa 1 ; Sanborn, Aaron D 2 ; Krauss, Stephen W 3 ; Burns, Jennifer L 4 ; Jackson, Kenya N 5 ; McCauley, Melanie D 1 ; Ober Shepherd, Brittany L 1 ; McHenry, Samantha 6 ; Stahlman, Shauna L 7 ; Bianchi, Elizabeth J 1 ; Freeman, Joanna 8 ; Ouellette, Jason 8 ; Stubbs, Jeremiah 9 ; Brigantti, Crystal 9 ; Hall, Tara L 9 ; Beagle, Milford H, Jr 10 ; Kwon, Paul O 9 ; Pieri, Jason A 10 ; Frambes, Timothy R 10 ; Murray, Clinton K 11 ; Cersovsky, Steven B 12 ; Modjarrad, Kayvon 13 ; Peel, Sheila A 4 ; Scott, Paul T 13 

 Emerging Infectious Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA 
 Clinical Trials Center, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA 
 Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA 
 Diagnostics and Countermeasures Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA 
 Experimental Therapeutics, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA 
 Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA 
 Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA 
 Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA; Diagnostics and Countermeasures Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA 
 Moncrief Army Health Clinic, Fort Jackson, South Carolina, USA 
10  United States Army Training Center, Fort Jackson, South Carolina, USA 
11  Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA 
12  US Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA 
13  Emerging Infectious Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
Sep 2021
Publisher
Oxford University Press
e-ISSN
23288957
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3171173881
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.