What is the
RESPIRA Study?
The RESPIRA Study is an observational investigation of cases and controls in Costa Rica. Its objective is to evaluate the immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.
The RESPIRA Study began in November 2021 and involved the participation of 999 people (both children and adults) randomly chosen among those who were diagnosed with COVID-19 by PCR test in Costa Rica; this from March 2020 to November 2021.
Likewise, 1999 people were included in the study, who had not suffered from the disease, but who had the same sex, age and place of residence as the cases. Also, 719 contacts residing in the same household of 300 of the cases were included to evaluate secondary transmission.
An important detail of the RESPIRA Study is that the participants had to reside in selected districts of the Great Metropolitan Area (GAM), Guanacaste and Puntarenas.
RESPIRA means: Evaluation of the Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 in Patients with COVID-19 in Costa Rica.
Importance of the RESPIRA Study
The RESPIRA Study seeks to provide knowledge to the national and global community about the characteristics of the immune response to this virus, which includes the levels and types of antibodies required to protect people against infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its duration. In this regard, it should be remembered that the COVID-19 disease has affected and caused the death of millions of people around the world.
Objective of the RESPIRA Study
To determine the immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in terms of antibody levels, differences in the response related to epidemiological and clinical characteristics, the duration of the response and the efficacy of protection, as well as its determinants, genetic characteristics and transmission secondary to household members.
The RESPIRA Study is an observational study of cases and controls
RESPIRA invited almost 3,000 people to participate, including children and adults, Costa Ricans and foreigners residing in Costa Rica, who will be followed up for two years. The objective is to constantly evaluate their levels of antibodies or defenses and determine if there is a new appearance of the virus. The groups of participants are mainly divided into cases and controls, with a third group of household surveys, which is explained below:
Principal Investigators: Dr. Amada Aparicio Llanos (CCSS) and Rolando Herrero Acosta, Ph.D, ACIB-FUNIN.
Sponsors: Costa Rican Social Security (CCSS); Research and Technological Innovation Fund of the CCSS; and Costa Rican Agency for Biomedical Research - INCIENSA Foundation (ACIB-FUNIN).
Institutions participating in the RESPIRA Study: Costa Rican Social Security (CCSS); Ministry of Health of Costa Rica; Costa Rican Agency for Biomedical Research (ACIB-FUNIN); US National Institutes of Health (NCI y NAIDS); German Cancer Institute; and University of Costa Rica (UCR).
Approved by the Scientific Ethics Committee: CEC-Central-CCSS R020-SABI-00261.
Registro en ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04537338
Summary of Achievements
