Population-based sero-epidemiological investigation of the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

Benedicta Ayiedu Mensah, Ignatius Cheng Ndong, Peter Kojo Quashie, Emilande Guichet, Benjamin Abuaku, Yaw Effah-Baafi, Kesego Tapela, Kwame Asiedu, Sekyibea Nana Ama Appiedu-Addo, Louisa Baaba Obbeng, Jones Amo Amponsah, Kwadwo Asamoah Kusi, Michael Ofori, Ahidjo Ayouba, David Courtin, Rachida Tahar, Eric Delaporte, Gordon Awandare, Nicaise Tuikue Ndam

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic devastated countries worldwide, and resulted in a global shutdown. Not all infections are symptomatic and hence the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the community is unknown. The paper presents the dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in the Greater Accra Metropolis, describing the evolution of seroprevalence through time and by age group. Three repeated independent population-based surveys at 6-week intervals were conducted in from November 2020 to July 2021. The global and by age-groups weighted seroprevalences were estimated and the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 antibody seropositivity were assessed using logistic regression. The overall age-standardized SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence for both spike and nucleocapsid increased from 13.8% (95% CI 11.9, 16.1) in November 2020 to 39.6% (95% CI 34.8, 44.6) in July 2021. After controlling for gender, marital status, education level, and occupation, the older age group over 40 years had a higher odds of seropositivity than the younger age group (OR 3.0 [95% CI 1.1–8.5]) in the final survey. Pupils or students had 3.3-fold increased odds of seropositivity (OR 3.2 [95% CI 1.1–8.5]) compared to the unemployed. This study reinforces that, SARS-CoV-2 infections have been significantly higher than reported.

Original languageEnglish
Article number21582
JournalScientific Reports
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022

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