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. 2023 May:241:106864.
doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2023.106864. Epub 2023 Feb 26.

Epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Douala, the most populated and highly heterogeneous town of Cameroon: a post-vaccination update

Arlette Flore Moguem Soubgui  1 , Elisee Libert Embolo Enyegue  2 , Loick Pradel Kojom Foko  3 , Wilfried Steve Ndeme Mboussi  1 , Gildas Deutou Hogoue  1 , Suzy Pascale Mbougang  1 , Sandra Michelle Sanda  1 , Isaac Ulrich Fotso Chidjou  1 , Valery Fabrice Fotso  1 , Steve Armand Nzogang Tchonet  1 , Christiane Medi Sike  4 , Martin Luther Koanga Mogtomo  5
Affiliations

Epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Douala, the most populated and highly heterogeneous town of Cameroon: a post-vaccination update

Arlette Flore Moguem Soubgui et al. Acta Trop. 2023 May.

Abstract

This study aimed at providing an update of SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology in Douala, the most populated and highly heterogeneous town of Cameroon. A hospital-based cross sectional study was conducted from January to September 2022. A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic, anthropometric, and clinical data. Retrotranscriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal samples. Of the 2354 individuals approached, 420 were included. The mean age of patients was 42.3 ± 14.4 years (range 21 - 82). The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 8.1%. The risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 was increased more than seven times in patients aged ≥ 70 years old (aRR = 7.12, p = 0.001), more than six times in married (aRR = 6.60, p = 0.02), more than seven times in those having completed secondary studies (aRR = 7.85, p = 0.02), HIV-positive patients (aRR = 7.64, p < 0.0001) and asthmatic patients (aRR = 7.60, p = 0.003), and more than nine times in those seeking health care regularly (aRR = 9.24, p = 0.001). In contrast, the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection was reduced by 86% in patients attending Bonassama hospital (aRR = 0.14, p = 0.04), by 93% in patients of blood group B (aRR = 0.07, p = 0.04), and by 95% in COVID-19 vaccinated participants (aRR = 0.05, p = 0.005). There is need for ongoing surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Cameroon, given the position and importance of Douala.

Keywords: Cameroon; Determinants; Prevalence; SARS-CoV-2; Update.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of Douala town depicting study sites. Map was generated using the ArcGIS v8.1 software (Esri, Redlands, California, USA). *For Deido district hospital, the sample collection site was located in Bonamoussadi neighbourhood. **For Bangue district hospital, the sample collection site was located in Akwa neighbourhood.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Flow diagram depicting inclusion of participants in the study.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Proportion of comorbidities seen in the participants.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Spatial variation of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Map was generated using the ArcGIS v8.1 software (Esri, Redlands, California, USA). Study sites are presented as yellow circles. The prevalence of viral infection at each study site is presented as pie charts (red section). *For Deido district hospital, the sample collection site was located in Bonamoussadi neighbourhood. **For Bangue district hospital, the sample collection site was located in Akwa neighbourhood.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Multiple correspondence analysis of variables (a) and variables’ categories (b).
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