In a new study, researchers found from March to early May 2020, most people in the United States had not been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
But the estimated number of infections seems to have been much higher than the number of reported cases.
The research was conducted by a team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The team estimated the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in convenience samples from 16,025 persons from 10 geographic sites across the United States.
Serum was collected from March 23 through May 12, 2020, for routine clinical testing.
The researchers found no evidence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 for most specimens from each site.
There was variation seen in the estimates of the proportion of persons seroreactive to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antibodies, from 1% in the San Francisco Bay area to 6.9% among persons in New York City.
The estimated number of infections was six to 24 times higher than the number of reported cases; for seven sites, more than 10 times more SARS-CoV-2 infections occurred compared with the number of reported cases.
The team says because persons often do not know if they are infected with SARS-CoV-2, the public should continue to take steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
This includes wearing cloth face coverings when outside the home, remaining 6 feet apart from other people, washing hands frequently, and staying home when sick.
One author of the study is Fiona P. Havers, M.D. from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study is published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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