Study of the prevalence of Coronavirus COVID-19 in the blood donor population and evaluation of seropositive individuals for the production of hyperimmune serum

COVID-19 is an acute respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus of severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In Brazil, it is a cause for concern due to its impact on health structures and the description of current mortality rates (especially in age groups above 60 years). Exponential growth of cases is expected and the assessment of their frequency rates such as morbidity, mortality, lethality, percentage of carriers and seroprevalence in the healthy population is essential to establish policies for action and surveillance. Objectives: 1. To evaluate the seroprevalence of the Coronavirus COVID-19 in blood donors at the Fundação Pró-Sangue Hemocentro de São Paulo. 2. Assess the feasibility of producing hyperimmune serum with individuals who have had their infection confirmed by PCR and from HIV-positive donors in screening the blood bank. 3. Develop an in-house IgG / IgM test that allows the expansion of epidemiological studies. Methods: Cross-sectional, prospective study in which an Elisa IgG antibody test for COVID-19 will be performed on 10,000 serum or plasma samples from FPS-HSP donors, from April to December 2020. Standardization of tests search for IgG antibodies and anti-SARS-CoV2 IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses. Quantitative real-time PCR test, "in house", which amplifies part of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase RNA polymerase and COVID-19 envelope gene. Currently, in Brazil, screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection is performed by testing the oral / nasal mucosa using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method only in symptomatic patients, who are included in the definition of suspicious cases offered by the Ministry of Health. Health (MS). The search for IgG antibodies can be used as a marker to understand the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection and assist in determining the level of humoral immune response in patients. Although infections from immunocompetent patients usually show only mild symptoms, the elderly, pregnant women and patients with pre-existing diseases, develop more serious illnesses. To date, there is no specific therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 infection. Passive immunotherapy with convalescent plasma, which was already used in the epidemic in China by MERS and has been proposed for the treatment of COVID-19 infection, may be an alternative treatment in these cases.