Publications by authors named "Honey Dave"
In response to the 2015 Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic that occurred in Brazil, numerous commercial serological assays have been developed for clinical and research applications. Diagnosis of recent infection in pregnant women remains challenging. Having standardized, comparative studies of ZIKV tests is important for implementing optimal diagnostic testing and disease surveillance.
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- The U.S. Nationwide Blood Donor Seroprevalence Study tracked SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels from July 2020 to December 2021, adapting testing methods as vaccine uptake increased and pandemic conditions changed.* -
- The study assessed the effectiveness of the Ortho anti-nucleocapsid (NC) test as a substitute for the Roche NC test, finding high agreement in results and confirming that most specimens provided consistent reactivity.* -
- Overall, the use of parallel testing on both Roche and Ortho platforms demonstrated high efficiency and agreement, making it valuable for large-scale seroprevalence studies that monitor the spread of COVID-19.*
Early detection of Zika virus (ZIKV) transmission within geographic regions informs implementation of community mitigation measures such as vector reduction strategies, travel advisories, enhanced surveillance among pregnant women, and possible implementation of blood and organ donor screening or deferral. Standardized, comparative assessments of ZIKV assay and testing lab performance are important to develop optimal approaches to ZIKV diagnostic testing and surveillance. We conducted an expanded blinded panel study to characterize and compare the analytical performance of fifteen diagnostic and blood screening ZIKV NAT assays, including detection among single- and multiplex assays detecting ZIKV, dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV).
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- * A study tested 2,250 blood donors who had possible COVID-19 symptoms after donation, finding that the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA peaked at 9%-15% in late 2020, dropping to about 4% after vaccinations were released.
- * Although RNA was detectable in some donors, no infectious virus was found in their plasma, indicating that blood transfusions are very unlikely to transmit SARS-CoV-2.
Article Synopsis
- A national serosurvey in the U.S., initiated with the CDC, aimed to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections and vaccinations among blood donors.
- The study began in July 2020 and involved testing around 150,000 blood samples monthly, utilizing a collaborative effort among blood collection organizations, labs, and government partners.
- Results were made publicly accessible through the CDC website, and the study adapted its methods as the pandemic progressed, showcasing the importance of blood donation testing and public-private partnerships during health emergencies.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serosurveys can estimate cumulative incidence for monitoring epidemics, requiring assessment of serologic assays to inform testing algorithm development and interpretation of results. We conducted a multilaboratory evaluation of 21 commercial high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 serologic assays using blinded panels of 1,000 highly characterized specimens. Assays demonstrated a range of sensitivities (96%-63%), specificities (99%-96%), and precision (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.
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- A study aimed to estimate how many people in the US have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies due to past infection or vaccination, revealing that both factors significantly reduce the risk of getting COVID-19 again.
- The research involved over 1.5 million blood samples collected from donors across all US states and territories between July 2020 and May 2021, providing a broad representation of the population.
- The results indicated that seroprevalence estimates were notably higher than reported COVID-19 case rates, suggesting many more people may have been infected than documented.
Background: The Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-IV-Pediatric (REDS-IV-P) Epidemiology, Surveillance and Preparedness of the Novel SARS-CoV-2 Epidemic (RESPONSE) seroprevalence study conducted monthly cross-sectional testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in blood donors in 6 US metropolitan regions to estimate the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infections over time.
Methods: During March-August 2020, approximately ≥1000 serum specimens were collected monthly from each region and tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using a well-validated algorithm. Regional seroprevalence estimates were weighted based on demographic differences compared with the general population.