seroprevalence

noun

se·​ro·​prev·​a·​lence ˌsir-ō-ˈpre-və-lən(t)s How to pronounce seroprevalence (audio)
-ˈprev-lən(t)s
: the frequency of individuals in a population who have a particular element and especially antibodies to an infectious agent in their blood serum
Cases of the illness increased 9-fold in the US between 2000 and 2008, and the national seroprevalence is estimated to be 3.1%.The Journal of the American Medical Association

Examples of seroprevalence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The pandemic-era scans came from months when relevant CDC seroprevalence data estimate that the number of children with one or more infections rose from about one in five to around three in five. Blake Murdoch, Scientific American, 18 Oct. 2024 To get a better idea of whether there is asymptomatic spread of the bird flu virus among Michigan dairy farmworkers, the state Department of Health and Human Services led a seroprevalence study in June that tested blood samples of 35 people who worked directly with cows sickened by H5N1 infections. Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 23 July 2024 The type of research that Michigan health officials have now undertaken, known as a seroprevalence or serology study, can start to define whether there have been undetected cases, and if there have, what activities may put workers at highest risk. Helen Branswell, STAT, 25 June 2024 Earlier in the pandemic, some experts and pundits drew on seroprevalence studies to suggest that Covid-19 may be less dangerous than feared, and that the virus could be left to spread widely until much of the population achieved immunity. Nathaniel Scharping, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Jan. 2021 See all Example Sentences for seroprevalence 

Word History

Etymology

sero- + prevalence

First Known Use

1977, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of seroprevalence was in 1977

Dictionary Entries Near seroprevalence

Cite this Entry

“Seroprevalence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seroprevalence. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

seroprevalence

noun
se·​ro·​prev·​a·​lence -ˈprev(-ə)-lən(t)s How to pronounce seroprevalence (audio)
: the frequency of individuals in a population who have a particular element and especially antibodies to an infectious agent in their blood serum
In areas endemic for Lyme borreliosis, unrelated positive results may also represent seroprevalence, which stems mostly from earlier asymptomatic infection …Robert R. Müllegger and Martin Glatz, American Journal of Dermatology
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