SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and clinical features of COVID-19 in a German liver transplant recipient cohort: a prospective serosurvey study

In liver transplant (LT) recipients with severe COVID-19 fatal outcome has been reported in a substantial subset of patients. Whether LT recipients are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 compared to the general population is controversial. Here we report the first results of a SARS-CoV-2 serosurvey in a large LT recipient cohort.

Taking into account known risk factors, LT recipients a priori represented a high-risk cohort for severe COVID-19 with 101/219 (46.1 %) presenting with more than 2 risk factors for severe COVID-19. Out of 219 LT recipients 8 (3.7%) were either tested positive for nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RNA or anti-SARS-CoV-2 serum IgG. 5/8 (62.5 %) did not show any clinical signs of infection, 3/8 (37.5%) had self-limited disease, none required hospitalization for COVID-19. 5/8 (67.5%) SARS-CoV-2 positive patients showed high utilization of the healthcare system. 2/8 (25 %) had known exposure to infected health care personal. A majority of 65.4 % often or always avoided outside family social contacts. Face masks were commonly worn by all patients.

In summary, LT recipients showed a SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion rate similar to the general population with a substantial percentage of unrecognized infections. The health care system can be the assumed source of infection in most of these cases.