Viral shedding and the durability of immunoglobulin G antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Abstract

We followed 45 participants in Surabaya, Indonesia, for 10 months and compared their PCR and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunoglobulin G (IgG) results. As much as 13 out of 45 participants were IgG seropositive at least once while the remaining 32 stayed IgG seronegative throughout the study. Among 13 seropositive participants, 9 were consecutively seropositive at least twice and were eligible for IgG longevity evaluation. The duration of IgG detection varied from 47 to ≥233 days. We observed intermittent re-positive PCR results suggestive of viral shedding in participants with a longer duration of IgG detection.

Keywords: COVID-19; Indonesia; SARS-CoV-2; immunoglobulin G.