SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in asymptomatic frontline health workers in Ibadan, Nigeria

Olayanju, Olatunde; Bamidele, Olabisi; Edem, Fabian; Eseile, Bola; Nwaokenye, Jude; Udeh, Chioma; Odok, Gabriel; Awah, Nnaemeka

doi:10.1183/13993003.congress-2021.pa3820

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Decreased diagnostic capacity has been reported to play a role in low reported COVID-19-related mortality. However, reduced testing would actually artificially inflate case fatality rates, since asymptomatic cases are mostly missed, whereas large-scale deaths are hard to miss [8,[13][14][15]. It is more likely that host factors may play a part in driving the different proportions of symptomatic and asymptomatic cases in West Africa relative to the rest of Africa and the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probing SARS-CoV-2-positive plasma to identify potential factors correlating with mild COVID-19 in Ghana, West Africa

Tapela

Oyawoye

Olwal

et al. 2022

BMC Med

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Background West Africa has recorded a relatively higher proportion of asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases than the rest of the world, and West Africa-specific host factors could play a role in this discrepancy. Here, we assessed the association between COVID-19 severity among Ghanaians with their immune profiles and ABO blood groups. Methods Plasma samples were obtained from Ghanaians PCR-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive individuals. The participants were categorized into symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. Cytokine profiling and antibody quantification were performed using Luminex™ multiplex assay whereas antigen-driven agglutination assay was used to assess the ABO blood groups. Immune profile levels between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups were compared using the two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test. Multiple comparisons of cytokine levels among and between days were tested using Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn’s post hoc test. Correlations within ABO blood grouping (O’s and non-O’s) and between cytokines were determined using Spearman correlations. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of various cytokines with asymptomatic phenotype. Results There was a trend linking blood group O to reduced disease severity, but this association was not statistically significant. Generally, symptomatic patients displayed significantly (p < 0.05) higher cytokine levels compared to asymptomatic cases with exception of Eotaxin, which was positively associated with asymptomatic cases. There were also significant (p < 0.05) associations between other immune markers (IL-6, IL-8 and IL-1Ra) and disease severity. Cytokines’ clustering patterns differ between symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. We observed a steady decrease in the concentration of most cytokines over time, while anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels were stable for at least a month, regardless of the COVID-19 status. Conclusions The findings suggest that genetic background and pre-existing immune response patterns may in part shape the nature of the symptomatic response against COVID-19 in a West African population. This study offers clear directions to be explored further in larger studies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probing SARS-CoV-2-positive plasma to identify potential factors correlating with mild COVID-19 in Ghana, West Africa

Tapela

Oyawoye

Olwal

et al. 2022

BMC Med

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“…However, so far, evidence has shown that the epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa has been different from the Americas, China, and Europe [1]. Available seroprevalence data indicate that SARS-CoV-2 has circulated more widely in African populations than can be deduced from the number of reported confirmed cases, hospitalisations, and deaths [5][6][7][8]. This has led to speculations that SARS-CoV-2 could have circulated longer in sub-Saharan Africa than the first confirmed cases, but current evidence is limited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Blood donor serosurveys are well-used surrogates for population surveillance of infectious diseases and have been used together with healthcare worker serosurveys to estimate and monitor the extent of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in several countries [5][6][7][8]. Here, we report results of a national serosurvey using archived serum samples from blood transfusion donors across Malawi from January 2020 to July 2021, generated using a World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain total antibody assay with high sensitivity and specificity, supported by SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus neutralisation assays to explore variant specificity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawian blood donors: an analysis of seroprevalence and variant dynamics between January 2020 and July 2021

Mandolo

Msefula

Henrion

et al. 2021

BMC Med

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Background By August 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has been less severe in sub-Saharan Africa than elsewhere. In Malawi, there have been three subsequent epidemic waves. We therefore aimed to describe the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawi. Methods We measured the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies amongst randomly selected blood transfusion donor sera in Malawi from January 2020 to July 2021 using a cross-sectional study design. In a subset, we also assessed in vitro neutralisation against the original variant (D614G WT) and the Beta variant. Results A total of 5085 samples were selected from the blood donor database, of which 4075 (80.1%) were aged 20–49 years. Of the total, 1401 were seropositive. After adjustment for assay characteristics and applying population weights, seropositivity reached peaks in October 2020 (18.5%) and May 2021 (64.9%) reflecting the first two epidemic waves. Unlike the first wave, both urban and rural areas had high seropositivity in the second wave, Balaka (rural, 66.2%, April 2021), Blantyre (urban, 75.6%, May 2021), Lilongwe (urban, 78.0%, May 2021), and Mzuzu (urban, 74.6%, April 2021). Blantyre and Mzuzu also show indications of the start of a third pandemic wave with seroprevalence picking up again in July 2021 (Blantyre, 81.7%; Mzuzu, 71.0%). More first wave sera showed in vitro neutralisation activity against the original variant (78% [7/9]) than the beta variant (22% [2/9]), while more second wave sera showed neutralisation activity against the beta variant (75% [12/16]) than the original variant (63% [10/16]). Conclusion The findings confirm extensive SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawi over two epidemic waves with likely poor cross-protection to reinfection from the first on the second wave. The dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 exposure will therefore need to be taken into account in the formulation of the COVID-19 vaccination policy in Malawi and across the region. Future studies should use an adequate sample size for the assessment of neutralisation activity across a panel of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern/interest to estimate community immunity.

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“…[10] Mortality surveillance involves reporting and monitoring the number of monkeypox deaths in the community, hospitals, and other sites. [11][12][13] The number of deaths is recorded daily or weekly, [6,14] hence hospital-based surveillance is another form of facility-based surveillance that takes place within the hospital. [15] Challenges of the surveillance system in Nigeria Numerous activities require expertise for effective surveillance outcomes.…”

Section: Forms Of Surveillance System For Monkeypox Virusmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Forms, Challenges and Strength of the Monkeypox Surveillance System in Nigeria

Olaleke¹,

Okesanya²,

Abioye³

et al. 2022

Ann Health Res

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Monkeypox is now a disease of global public health concern, making it cut across boundaries into different countries, continents and spread worldwide. However, it originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a human pathogen in 1970, with the first case reported in Nigeria in 1971. The World Health Organization recently declared Nigeria the country with the highest burden of monkeypox-confirmed cases and deaths in Africa for the current outbreak. This study aimed to identify forms, challenges, strengths, and ways to further strengthen the surveillance system of monkeypox in Nigeria. We conducted a rapid narrative review of articles published in English on monkeypox between January 2018 and October 2022. Google Scholar and PubMed were searched with the following terms: "Monkeypox", "Surveillance system", "Strengthening", "Challenges" "Nigeria" and relevant publications were reviewed. The forms of surveillance systems in Nigeria include Indicator-based and Event-based surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory-based surveillance, sero-surveillance, and mortality surveillance. Shortage of highly skilled staff in public health interventions, insufficient testing capacities, power instability, poor healthcare systems and stigmatization from communities with misinformation, and co-epidemic surveillance burden in Nigeria are some of the challenges contributing to weak surveillance in the country. The Nigerian governments must focus on investing in surveillance systems and bolster preparedness to stem the rapid spread of infectious diseases. Strengthening the surveillance system in the country as a response intervention for monkeypox is no longer a matter of option in Nigeria but of necessity to prevent the forecasted effect the incidence portends.

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SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in asymptomatic frontline health workers in Ibadan, Nigeria

Cited by 5 publications

References 13 publications

Probing SARS-CoV-2-positive plasma to identify potential factors correlating with mild COVID-19 in Ghana, West Africa

Probing SARS-CoV-2-positive plasma to identify potential factors correlating with mild COVID-19 in Ghana, West Africa

SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawian blood donors: an analysis of seroprevalence and variant dynamics between January 2020 and July 2021

The Forms, Challenges and Strength of the Monkeypox Surveillance System in Nigeria

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