Observatory of Serological Studies on SARS-CoV-2 in Germany

The infectious disease COVID-19, caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has been occurring since 2019, led to health policy and societal challenges. In order to be able to take appropriate measures to contain the pandemic and to gain new insights into the pandemic, there is an increased need for research on COVID-19. One starting point for this is the blood samples obtained from infected and non-infected persons, which are tested and analyzed in laboratories for antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. They provide information on the proportion of the population that has already been infected with SARS-CoV-2, including unrecognized infections (under-reporting).<br>The project 'Observatory of serological studies on SARS-CoV-2 in Germany' (SERO-OBS Corona) provides an overview of antibody studies (so-called seroepidemiological studies) in Germany. The seroepidemiological studies are based on blood samples from citizens who were tested for antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus at different times of the pandemic. For example, the following questions will be answered: What is the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infections in different populations? What is the under-reporting factor, which shows how many times more infections have occurred compared to the previously known (reported) cases? In the present project, seroepidemiological studies on SARS-CoV-2 carried out in Germany have been continuously identified since spring 2020 via systematic searches in study registers, literature databases including pre-publications and media reports, and study information and results overviews are made available.<br><br>The results of the SERO-OBS-Corona project are available on the website <a href="http://www.rki.de/covid-19-ak-studies">www.rki.de/covid-19-serostudies-germany</a>, in German, and on the website <a href="http:///www.rki.de/covid-19-serostudies-germany">htp:///www.rki.de/covid-19-erostudies-germany<>, in English.由新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）引发的新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）自2019年起在全球范围内暴发，给公共卫生政策制定与社会运转带来了多重严峻挑战。为制定恰当的疫情防控措施、获取疫情相关的全新认知，针对COVID-19的研究需求日益增长。此类研究的重要切入点之一，便是采集感染者与非感染者的血液样本，在实验室中针对SARS-CoV-2的抗体开展检测与分析。此类样本可用于反映人群中已感染SARS-CoV-2的比例，包括未被识别的感染（即漏报情况）。<br>“德国SARS-CoV-2血清学研究观测站”（SERO-OBS Corona）项目旨在全面梳理德国境内针对SARS-CoV-2的抗体研究（又称血清流行病学研究）。此类血清流行病学研究以疫情不同阶段采集的德国民众血液样本为基础，检测其中针对SARS-CoV-2的抗体。本项目将解答如下核心问题：不同人群中SARS-CoV-2感染的发生频率如何？漏报系数为多少——即实际感染人数相较已报告确诊病例高出的倍数？自2020年春季起，本项目通过系统检索研究登记库、包含预印本在内的文献数据库以及媒体报道，持续识别德国境内开展的SARS-CoV-2血清流行病学研究，并公开相关研究信息与成果概览。<br><br>SERO-OBS-Corona项目的研究成果可在德语版网站<a href="http://www.rki.de/covid-19-ak-studies">www.rki.de/covid-19-serostudies-germany</a>获取，以及英语版网站<a href="http:///www.rki.de/covid-19-serostudies-germany">htp:///www.rki.de/covid-19-erostudies-germany<></a>获取。