Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 24;17(3):e0265768.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265768. eCollection 2022.

COVID-19 reinfection in Liberia: Implication for improving disease surveillance

Godwin E Akpan  1 , Luke Bawo  2 , Maame Amo-Addae  1 , Jallah Kennedy  3 , C Sanford Wesseh  2 , Faith Whesseh  1 , Peter Adewuyi  1 , Lily Sanvee-Blebo  1 , Joseph Babalola  1 , Himiede W W Sesay  1 , Trokon O Yeabah  4 , Dikena Jackson  2 , Fulton Shannon  2 , Chukwuma David Umeokonkwo  1   5 , Abraham W Nyenswah  4 , Jane Macauley  6 , Wilhelmina Jallah  7
Affiliations

COVID-19 reinfection in Liberia: Implication for improving disease surveillance

Godwin E Akpan et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

COVID-19 remains a serious disruption to human health, social, and economic existence. Reinfection with the virus intensifies fears and raises more questions among countries, with few documented reports. This study investigated cases of COVID-19 reinfection using patients' laboratory test results between March 2020 and July 2021 in Liberia. Data obtained from Liberia's Ministry of Health COVID-19 surveillance was analyzed in Excel 365 and ArcGIS Pro 2.8.2. Results showed that with a median interval of 200 days (Range: 99-415), 13 out of 5,459 cases were identified and characterized as reinfection in three counties during the country's third wave of the outbreak. Eighty-six percent of the COVID-19 reinfection cases occurred in Montserrado County within high clusters, which accounted for over 80% of the randomly distributed cases in Liberia. More cases of reinfection occurred among international travelers within populations with high community transmissions. This study suggests the need for continued public education and surveillance to encourage longer-term COVID-19 preventive practices even after recovery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. COVID-19 Epi-data flowchart in Liberia, July 2021.
Note: Ministry of Health (MOH), National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), National Reference Lab (NRL), Treatment Unit (TU), PoE (Points of Entry), and Enhanced Active Surveillance (ENS).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Spatial distribution of COVID-19 cases by county in Liberia, March 15, 2020 to July 31, 2021.
Data source: The Incident Management System for COVID-19 Response in Liberia (S2 File).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Distribution of reinfection by district/county in Liberia, March 15, 2020 to July 31, 2021.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Distribution pattern of COVID-19 cases in Liberia, March 15, 2020 to July 31, 2021.
Data source: The Incident Management System for COVID-19 Response in Liberia (S2 File).
Fig 5
Fig 5. Distribution of COVID-19 cases in Montserrado communities, Liberia, March 15, 2020 to July 31, 2021.
Data source: The Incident Management System for COVID-19 Response in Liberia (S2 File).
Fig 6
Fig 6. COVID-19 Epi-curve with possible reinfection in Liberia, March 2020 –July 2021.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organisation. COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update [Internet]. Vol. 63 ed. 2021. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-epidemiological-update-on...
    1. Asare Vitenu-Sackey P, Barfi R. The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Global Economy: Emphasis on Poverty Alleviation and Economic Growth. Econ Financ Lett. 2021;8(1):32–43.
    1. Verschuur J, Koks EE, Hall JW. Global economic impacts of COVID-19 lockdown measures stand out in highfrequency shipping data. PLoS One [Internet]. 2021;16(4 April):1–16. Available from: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248818 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Morgan AK, Awafo BA, Quartey T. The effects of COVID-19 on global economic output and sustainability: evidence from around the world and lessons for redress. Sustain Sci Pract Policy. 2021;17(1):77–81.
    1. Mohsin AKM, Hongzhen L, Hossain SFA. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Consumer Economy: Countermeasures Analysis. SAGE Open. 2021;11(2).