Prevalence of Serum Immunoglobulin A Antibodies Reactive to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Healthy College Students and Employees: A Preliminary Study in Sudan

Abstract The SARS-CoV-2-caused COVID-19 pandemic has posed a severe danger to worldwide public health. While several nations have recorded high rates of occurrence, Sudan has reported a comparably low number of instances. To investigate this phenomenon, we conducted a preliminary investigation to determine the frequency of immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies reactive to SARS-CoV-2 in healthy Sudanese college students and employees. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we collected blood samples from 80 individuals and evaluated serum IgA antibodies reactive to the receptor binding region of SARS-CoV-2 spike-1 subunit proteins. Our primary finding was that 17.5% (95% CI 9.97–27.6) of those who asymptomatic to SARS-CoV-2 tested positive for serum IgA antibodies, with a broad range of values of the grand median of the optical density (OD) of 0.083 (IQR: 0.049–0.13) ng/ml. We discovered a downward trend in antibody positivity with increasing age. According to our early findings, IgA antibodies reactive to SARS-CoV-2 are found in asymptomatic Sudanese college students and staff. This discovery may shed light on the comparatively low prevalence of COVID-19 in Sudan. Further study is needed to look into the potential protective impact of pre-existing IgA antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and to understand the underlying processes.