Publication date: Apr 01, 2025
The epidemiology of parechovirus-A3 (PeV-A3) infection in neonates and young infants changed during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We hypothesized the pandemic impacted maternal antibodies against PeV-A3. To test this hypothesis, we measured neutralizing antibody titers (NATs) against PeV-A3 in 102 cord blood samples from full-term infants born in June-December 2023 at Niigata University Hospital in Niigata, Japan. Maternal data were collected and compared the findings with our previous pre-pandemic data. The median maternal age was 34. 5 years (range: 30-37 years). The geometric mean titer (GMT) against PeV-A3 was 98. 4 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 61. 7-156. 8). The GMT for ages 25-34 years (184. 6, n = 45) and 35-44 years (56. 3, n = 51) sustained at the same level when we compared to age-matched pre-pandemic data for ages 16-24 years (336. 5, n = 11, p = 0. 84) and 25-34 years (31. 9, n = 107, p = 0. 14), respectively. By multivariable logistic regression analyses, maternal age ≤ 34 years was associated with higher seropositivity (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3. 12, 95% CI 1. 18-8. 78, p = 0. 03). Maternal NATs against PeV-A3 were sustained at the same level during the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating intra-pandemic maintenance of humoral immunity to PeV-A3 in women of childbearing age.
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | Coronavirus Disease 2019 |
| disease | MESH | infection |
| disease | MESH | Picornaviridae Infections |