Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39916712›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2025

Pre-pandemic cross-reactive antibody and cellular responses against SARS-CoV-2 among female sex workers in Dakar, Senegal.

Bobby Brooke Herrera, Beth Chaplin, Souleymane MBoup, Adam Abdullahi, Michelle He, Sydney M Fisher, Sulaimon Akanmu, Charlotte A Chang, Donald J Hamel, Ravindra K Gupta and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Bobby Brooke HerreraRutgers Global Health Institute, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States.
Beth ChaplinDepartment of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
Souleymane MBoupInstitut De Recherche En Santé De Surveillance Épidémiologique Et De Formation (IRESSEF), Dakar, Senegal.
Adam AbdullahiCambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Michelle HeDepartment of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
Sydney M FisherDepartment of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
Sulaimon AkanmuLagos University Teaching Hospital, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
Charlotte A ChangDepartment of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
Donald J HamelDepartment of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
Ravindra K GuptaCambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Phyllis J KankiDepartment of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact globally, yet African populations exhibited unexpectedly lower rates of severe disease and mortality. We investigated the potential role of pre-existing immunity in shaping the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Africa. Methods: Plasma collected from Senegalese female sex workers prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was screened for SARS-CoV-2 and human coronavirus (hCoV) antibodies by virion immunoblots. For antibody-reactive plasma, paired peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated by fusion proteins and IFN- Results: We observed substantial levels of pre-existing cross-reactive immunity to SARS-CoV-2, stemming from prior exposure to seasonal hCoVs. Our antibody analysis revealed a 23.5% (47/200) seroprevalence rate against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N). These samples were then probed for antibodies against hCoV spike (S) and/or N antigens; 85.1% (40/47), 70.2% (33/47), and 95.7% (45/47) were antibody reactive against hCoV-229E, hCoV-OC43, or hCoV-HKU1, respectively. Our analysis of cellular responses also demonstrated cross-reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 with 80.0% (36/45) and 82.2% (37/45) showing IFN- Conclusion: These findings suggest that prior hCoV exposure may induce cross-reactive adaptive immunity, potentially contributing to protection against COVID-19. Our study provides unique data on the dynamics of hCoV and SARS-CoV-2 immunity in Senegal and underscores the importance of understanding the role of pre-existing immunity in shaping COVID-19 outcomes globally.

Indexed as

Antibodies, ViralCOVID-19Immunity, CellularSARS-CoV-2Sex WorkersAdultCross ReactionsFemaleHumansMiddle AgedSenegalSeroepidemiologic StudiesYoung AdultAntibodies, Viralantibodycellular responsescross-reactivitySARS-CoV-2Senegal

Identifiers

PMID39916712
PMCPMC11798920

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.