SARS-CoV-2 IgG seropositivity among people living with and without HIV in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Haiti and Tanzania.

OBJECTIVES

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) may have compromised humoral immune responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), potentially influencing susceptibility to infection. Parallel comparative analyses of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and antibody levels were conducted among adults with and without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and in Mwanza, Tanzania, early in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (2020-2021).

METHODS

In Haiti, participants were recruited from ongoing studies, including a community-based study of cardiovascular disease, a cohort of adults living with HIV, and a cohort with a history of tuberculosis. In Tanzania, participants were recruited from a cohort of adults with and without HIV. Demographic and clinical information was abstracted from electronic medical records. In Haiti, two blood samples were collected six months apart, at baseline and follow-up between September 2020 and September 2021. In Tanzania, a single blood sample was collected (August 2020-May 2021). Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were measured using the R&D COVID-SeroIndex Kantaro kit.

RESULTS

In Haiti, 383 PLWH and 484 individuals without HIV were enrolled. In Tanzania, 128 PLWH and 142 individuals without HIV were enrolled. In Haiti, overall SARS-CoV-2 positivity was lower among PLWH than among individuals HIV-uninfected (52.5% vs 65.0%; P < 0.001). Immunoglobulin G levels were also lower in PLWH (P < 0.001), with similar trends observed in the Tanzanian cohort (27.3% vs 51.4%).

CONCLUSIONS

PLWH in Haiti and Tanzania had lower SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and lower antibody levels than individuals without HIV, suggesting that some PLWH may mount weaker antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2.