Prevalence and Risk Factors of SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Parturients and Newborns from Luanda, Angola

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 emerged in China in December 2019, creating a massive public health concern. Although previous studies have identified SARS-CoV-2 in pregnant women, the possibility of transmission to newborns remains uncertain. Herein, we investigated SARS-CoV-2 infection and risk factors among parturients and newborns. This was a cross-sectional study carried out with 3633 parturients from Luanda, Angola, between January and April 2021, with an age ranging from 13 to 48 years. SARS-CoV-2 infection of the parturients was further confirmed with RT-PCR after COVID-19 Ag Rapid Testing. About 0.4% of parturients tested positive on the day of delivery. Surprisingly, parturients from urbanized areas (OR: 0.18, p = 0.025) had a low chance of infection. None of the newborns tested positive in the first 24 h after birth, while one (9.1%, 1/10) of the newborns tested positive with pharyngeal swabs seven days after birth. However, whether the case was due to vertical transmission from mother to child remains to be confirmed. The mother’s residence, education level, antenatal follow-up, and delivery category were related to SARS-CoV-2 transmission (p < 0.05). Our findings showed a relatively low SARS-CoV-2 infection from parturients to newborns, regardless of the severity of the maternal disease. Furthermore, these findings are an early assessment of COVID-19 cases in late pregnancy, which could indicate the need for intensive management of SARS-CoV-2 infection among parturients in Angola. Further studies are needed on the consequences of SARS-CoV-2 among pregnant women and neonates from Angola.

Immune profile of healthcare professionals six months after vaccination or exposure to SARS‐CoV‐2 in Angola

“…The high rate of adherence to vaccines against SARS‐CoV‐2 observed in this population in Angola, might be a reflection of the success of the strategies such as (i) information in different media and (ii) awareness campaigns adopted by the Angolan Ministry of Health, as measures to reduce the spread and mortality of COVID‐19 in the Angolan population. These measures also showed positive results in the spread of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in low prevalence among the Angolan population residing in different settings, as reported by our research team in previous studies 13–17 . A cohort study carried out in Italy, found that about 88% of the population was fully vaccinated which was slightly low compared with the 98% rate of vaccinates observed in our study (Table 1).…”

“…These measures also showed positive results in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection in low prevalence among the Angolan population residing in different settings, as reported by our research team in previous studies. [13][14][15][16][17] A cohort study carried out in Italy, found that about 88% of the population was fully vaccinated which was slightly low compared with the 98% rate of vaccinates observed in our study (Table 1). Also, our study presents about 10% of the unvaccinated population and there were mainly non-healthcare professionals,…”

SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity and HIV Viral Load Among Mozambican Pregnant Women

“… 19 Another study conducted in parturient women from Angola between January and April 2021, found a prevalence of 0.4% of SARS-CoV-2 infection using a rapid antigenic testing and RT-PCR. 33 By contrast, a study conducted in Kenyan pregnant women from May 2020 to February 2021 reported a prevalence of 31% of clinical COVID-19. 34 However, none of these studies provided seroprevalence data, making it difficult to compare their results with this study.…”