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. 2022 Dec 14;12(1):21582.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-25598-0.

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

Benedicta Ayiedu Mensah #  1 , Ignatius Cheng Ndong #  2   3 , Peter Kojo Quashie  4 , Emilande Guichet  5 , Benjamin Abuaku  2 , Yaw Effah-Baafi  2 , Kesego Tapela  4 , Kwame Asiedu  4 , Sekyibea Nana Ama Appiedu-Addo  4 , Louisa Baaba Obbeng  4 , Jones Amo Amponsah  2 , Kwadwo Asamoah Kusi  2 , Michael Ofori  2 , Ahidjo Ayouba  5 , David Courtin  6 , Rachida Tahar  6 , Eric Delaporte  5 , Gordon Awandare  4 , Nicaise Tuikue Ndam  7
Affiliations

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

Benedicta Ayiedu Mensah et al. Sci Rep. .

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Venn diagram showing the distribution of seroprevalence by antigenic protein (A) survey 1, (B) survey 2, (C) survey 3.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trend plot of seropositivity for both spike and NC between November 2020 and July 2021. ***P < 0.001 (Cochran–Armitage test for trend).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of households and number of individuals who were seropositive for both Spike and NC.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot of odds ratios of risk factors associated with Sars-Cov-2 seroprevalence in 3 consecutive surveys. Dots represents odds ratio and the bar is the confidence interval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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