Prior infection by seasonal coronaviruses, as assessed by serology, does not prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease in children, France, April to June 2020

Isabelle Sermet-Gaudelus (1, 2, 3) , Sarah Temmam (4) , Christèle Huon (4) , Sylvie Behillil (5, 6) , Vincent Gajdos (7, 8) , Thomas Bigot (9, 4) , Thibaut Lurier (10, 11) , Delphine Chrétien (4) , Marija Backovic (12) , Agnès Delaunay-Moisan (13) , Flora Donati (5, 6) , Mélanie Albert (5, 6) , Elsa Foucaud (14) , Bettina Mesplées (15) , Grégoire Benoist (16) , Albert Faye (17) , Marc Duval-Arnould (18) , Célia Cretolle (3) , Marina Charbit (3) , Mélodie Aubart (3) , Johanne Auriau (3) , Mathie Lorrot (19) , Dulanjalee Kariyawasam (3) , Laura Fertitta (3) , Gilles Orliaguet (3) , Bénédicte Pigneur (3) , Brigitte Bader-Meunier (3) , Coralie Briand (15) , Vincent Enouf (5, 20, 21, 6) , Julie Toubiana (22, 3) , Tiffany Guilleminot (23) , Sylvie van Der Werf (5, 6) , Marianne Leruez-Ville (23) , Marc Eloit (24, 4)

1 INEM - UM 111 (UMR 8253 / U1151) - Institut Necker Enfants-Malades
2 UFR Médecine UPCité - UFR Médecine [Santé] - Université Paris Cité
3 Hôpital Necker - Enfants Malades [AP-HP]
4 Découverte de pathogènes – Pathogen discovery
5 CNR - laboratoire coordonnateur - Centre National de Référence des virus des infections respiratoires (dont la grippe) - National Reference Center Virus Influenzae [Paris]
6 GMV-ARN (UMR_3569 / U-Pasteur_2) - Génétique Moléculaire des Virus à ARN - Molecular Genetics of RNA Viruses
7 AP-HP - Hôpital Antoine Béclère [Clamart]
8 CESP - Centre de recherche en épidémiologie et santé des populations
9 Hub Bioinformatique et Biostatistique - Bioinformatics and Biostatistics HUB
10 UMR EPIA - Unité Mixte de Recherche d'Épidémiologie des maladies Animales et zoonotiques
11 RS2GP - Rongeurs Sauvages, Risques Sanitaires et Gestion des Populations - UR 1233
12 Virologie Structurale - Structural Virology
13 PF I2BC - Département Plateforme
14 Hôpital Jean Verdier [AP-HP]
15 Hôpital Louis Mourier - AP-HP [Colombes]
16 Hôpital Ambroise Paré [AP-HP]
17 Hôpital Robert Debré Paris
18 Hôpital Bicêtre [AP-HP, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre]
19 CHU Trousseau [APHP]
20 P2M - Plateforme de Microbiologie Mutualisée (PIBnet) - Mutualized Platform for Microbiology
21 PIBNet - Pasteur International Bioresources network
22 Biodiversité et Epidémiologie des Bactéries pathogènes - Biodiversity and Epidemiology of Bacterial Pathogens
23 Laboratoire de Microbiologie Clinique [AP-HP Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades]
24 ENVA - École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort

Background Children have a low rate of COVID-19 and secondary severe multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) but present a high prevalence of symptomatic seasonal coronavirus infections. Aim We tested if prior infections by seasonal coronaviruses (HCoV) NL63, HKU1, 229E or OC43 as assessed by serology, provide cross-protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods We set a cross-sectional observational multicentric study in pauci- or asymptomatic children hospitalised in Paris during the first wave for reasons other than COVID (hospitalised children (HOS), n = 739) plus children presenting with MIS (n = 36). SARS-CoV-2 antibodies directed against the nucleoprotein (N) and S1 and S2 domains of the spike (S) proteins were monitored by an in-house luciferase immunoprecipitation system assay. We randomly selected 69 SARS-CoV-2-seropositive patients (including 15 with MIS) and 115 matched SARS-CoV-2-seronegative patients (controls (CTL)). We measured antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV as evidence for prior corresponding infections and assessed if SARS-CoV-2 prevalence of infection and levels of antibody responses were shaped by prior seasonal coronavirus infections. Results Prevalence of HCoV infections were similar in HOS, MIS and CTL groups. Antibody levels against HCoV were not significantly different in the three groups and were not related to the level of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the HOS and MIS groups. SARS-CoV-2 antibody profiles were different between HOS and MIS children. Conclusion Prior infection by seasonal coronaviruses, as assessed by serology, does not interfere with SARS-CoV-2 infection and related MIS in children.

Mots clés: 229E; COVID-19; HKU1; NL63; OC43; SARS-CoV-2

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Isabelle Sermet-Gaudelus, Sarah Temmam, Christèle Huon, Sylvie Behillil, Vincent Gajdos, et al.. Prior infection by seasonal coronaviruses, as assessed by serology, does not prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease in children, France, April to June 2020. Eurosurveillance, 2021, 26 (13), pp.2001782. ⟨10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.13.2001782⟩. ⟨hal-03205795⟩