Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in multiple sclerosis: The hidden part of the iceberg

Background. We compared the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM in multiple sclerosis (MS), low-risk, and high-risk populations and explored possible clinical correlates. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited MS patients, low-risk (university staff from non-clinical departments), and high-risk individuals (healthcare staff from COVID-19 wards) from 11 May to 15 June 2020. We used lateral flow immunoassay to detect SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM. We used t-test, Fisher’s exact test, chi square test, or McNemar’s test, as appropriate, to evaluate between-group differences. Results. We recruited 310 MS patients (42.3 ± 12.4 years; females 67.1%), 862 low-risk individuals (42.9 ± 13.3 years; females 47.8%), and 235 high-risk individuals (39.4 ± 10.9 years; females 54.5%). The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM in MS patients (n = 9, 2.9%) was significantly lower than in the high-risk population (n = 25, 10.6%) (p < 0.001), and similar to the low-risk population (n = 11, 1.3%) (p = 0.057); these results were also confirmed after random matching by age and sex (1:1:1). No significant differences were found in demographic, clinical, treatment, and laboratory features. Among MS patients positive to SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM (n = 9), only two patients retrospectively reported mild and short-lasting COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusions. MS patients have similar risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection to the general population, and can be asymptomatic from COVID-19, also if using treatments with systemic immunosuppression.