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Observational Study
. 2023 Dec 28:46:120.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2023.46.120.39511. eCollection 2023.

Five successive waves of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Central African Republic: a prospective observational study from 2020-2022

Clotaire Donatien Rafaï  1   2 , Luc Salva Heredeibona  3 , Ernest Lango-Yaya  1   2 , Roseline Darnicka Belizaire  4 , Oscar Senzongo  1 , Placide Mbala  5 , Maurel Ouoko Fa-Ti-Gbia  1 , Javan Allon Bengba  1 , Simon Pounguinza  1 , Jephté Estimé Kaleb Kandou  1 , Daniel Yvon Gonessa  1 , Wilfried Koyaweda  1 , Ulrich Vickos  1 , Ginette Claude Kalla  6 , Wilfried Sylvain Nambei  2 , Pierre Somse  3 , Laurent Bélec  6 , Gérard Grésenguet  2 , Boniface Koffi  1   2 , François-Xavier Mbopi-Keou  7
Affiliations
Observational Study

Five successive waves of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Central African Republic: a prospective observational study from 2020-2022

Clotaire Donatien Rafaï et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Introduction: the National Laboratory of Clinical Biology and Public Health (NLBPH) in Bangui in the Central African Republic (CAR) carries out the vast majority of molecular screening tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection nationwide. This study aimed to show the contribution of molecular diagnosis and genomic surveillance in monitoring the evolution of longitudinal variations of the SARS-CoV-2 infection epidemic in CAR between 2020 and the end of 2022.

Methods: this is an observational study on the variations in the prevalence of detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR at the NLCBPH from nasopharyngeal samples taken prospectively over a period of 3 years since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic. A subgroup of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples was selected for molecular sequencing performed by Illumina® and MinIon® at the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Results: from March 2020 to December 31th, 2022, 88,442 RT-PCR tests were carried out (4/5 of the country) and detected 9,156 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 5 successive waves. The average age of the patients was 39.8 years (extremes ranging from to 92 years). Age(P=0.001), sex(P=0.001) and symptom presentation(P=0.001) were significantly associated with RT-PCR test positivity. Among the different variants identified during successive waves, the Omicron variant predominated during the last two waves.

Conclusion: this prospective study over a period of 3 years, marked by 5 successive waves, made it possible to report that age, sex and the presence of clinical symptoms are associated with RT-PCR positivity. Among the different variants identified during successive waves, the Omicron variant predominated during the last two waves.

Keywords: COVID-19; Central African Republic; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
data from RT-PCR tests carried out over the last 3 years by the National Laboratory for Clinical Biology and Public Health
Figure 2
Figure 2
A,B) evolution of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Central African Republic over the past 3 years
Figure 3
Figure 3
origin of SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating between March 2020 and December 2022
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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