- The population with an age range of 1 to 14 years is the group with the highest prevalence.
- In this ambitious health and logistics project, tests were carried out on 104.299 people and PCRs were carried out on 5.292 people in six days, with the participation of 156 professionals and 300 volunteers and collaborators. This has made it possible to detect 100 positives and isolate them to prevent the spread of the virus.
- The study has made it possible to define the impact of the COVID crisis in one of the municipalities most affected by the pandemic and to detect asymptomatic cases early, contributing to a lower spread of the virus.
- Based on these results, lines of research of great interest have been identified that will allow the scientific community to continue advancing.
TORREJÓN DE ARDOZ, JUNE 17, 2020. The Seroprevalence study, promoted by the Municipality of Torrejon de Ardoz, in collaboration with Ribera Salud, has revealed a prevalence of IgG antibodies of 20,18% against SARS-Cov2 among the population of this municipality.
This unprecedented health and logistics project, in which tests have been carried out on 104.299 people and PCRs on 5.292 people in six days, It has made it possible to define the impact of the COVID crisis in one of the municipalities located at the epicenter of the pandemic, as well as early detection of asymptomatic but potentially contagious cases, to provide clear instructions on their convenient isolation and identification of their environment, contributing to less spread of the virus.
The study has been led by a technical team made up of expert researchers, health professionals, mathematicians and statisticians who have analyzed and classified all the samples using scientific criteria. In addition, the study has been subjected to a methodological process that has contrasted the known data with those obtained in a random sample, chosen by a computer system, to which the ELISA test has been performed. All these results have been transferred to the Community of Madrid to include them in its own analysis of the incidence of COVID.
Ignacio Vázquez, mayor of Torrejón de Ardoz, wanted to "thank the residents of Torrejón de Ardoz for their exemplary participation, 74,79%, and their enormous support in carrying out diagnostic tests for the coronavirus, both for the volume of the population that has come to have them performed, a total of 104.299 neighbors, as well as for the shows of support that have been transferred to us”.
The person in charge of the project and Corporate Director of Operations of Ribera Salud, José David Zafrilla, has highlighted that The data collected in this study will also allow plan for possible impacts on waves or future outbreaks, assess whether control and isolation measures among the population have been sufficient and prepare the city of Torrejón for a safe and responsible de-escalation, preventing possible new outbreaks of the virus in the early phases, when the study was carried out. During his speech, Zafrilla highlighted the important work of health education for citizens by the 156 health professionals and more than 300 volunteers and collaborators who have participated in the project.
During the presentation of first advance of the seroprevalence study de Torrejón, carried out between May 29 and June 5, those responsible have recalled that, From the start of the health alert until June 16, 244.109 cases of COVID were diagnosed by PCRs in Spain and 70.570 of these cases (28,1%) were located in the Community of Madrid. The Torrejón University Hospital, managed by Ribera Salud, was one of the first hospitals to receive COVID patients since the end of February, and in that same period of time it diagnosed 1.098 positive cases. These data show a total cumulative incidence of 835,77 cases per 100.000 inhabitants.
Among the most important data of this advance study It should be noted that the prevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-Cov-2 in Torrejón is 20,2%, which is 15 percentage points above the figure estimated in the ENE-COVID study that has been carried out at the national level (5,2%), 13,4 percentage points more than the figure estimated by that same study for cities with more than 100.000 inhabitants and 8,8 percentage points higher than the same study for the Community of Madrid.
Children and adolescents between 10 and 14 years old have revealed an average seroprevalence of 26,47% in IgG, six points higher than the average, followed by the minors between 1-4 years old, the group from 5 to 9 years old and the older ones between 70 and 74.
With respect to IgM antibodies (developed in the acute phase of the disease) on the other hand, they were detected in a higher percentage after the age of 50, The age bracket with the highest figure being that of people aged 90 or over (7,83) and higher than 7% in the average of the groups of those over 60 years of age.
It should be noted that during the 6 days, 100 cases confirmed by PCR have been diagnosed, which have been placed in home isolation for 14 days, thus fulfilling one of the objectives of the program, with the early withdrawal from the community and the interruption of transmission. community, since these cases were the focus of contagion in the phase of return to normality
The six days of work were carried out with the absolute collaboration of the entire population of Torrejón, who complied with the planned schedules and respected all the security and social distance measures, extraordinarily facilitating the work of the health professionals in the 11 extraction tents and sample processing, as well as the organization of the device.
Within the commitment of Ribera Health With the municipality of Torrejón, and in collaboration with the City Council, the determination of antibodies to essential professions that have carried out their work in these three months of pandemic in the municipality was also carried out, although the results of these determinations have not been included in the study.
Based on the initial results, further studies will be carried out in collaboration with universities that have already shown interest in participating., given that it is a very relevant database for the scientific community with lines of research identified as transmission mechanisms, intrafamily dissemination, protection of patients with immunity, immunity maintenance time, associated risk factors, behavior in certain patients, etc
Ribera Salud has collaborated in the initiative of the Torrejón City Council to carry out this study, in accordance with its Social Responsibility Policy. This action is part of the Prevention and Health Promotion Plans which it carries out in all the municipalities where it is present, with the performance of more than 2.000 annual activities for the health and well-being of the population, in accordance with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, for example, within its commitment to innovation and research, the group has recently developed through its technological subsidiary Futurs, a model that predicts which COVID19 patients admitted may need ICUs. It is a decision-making support model to predict clinical worsening, and act proactively, and it will be key if new outbreaks occur.
