| Title: |
Prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in people attending the two main Goma markets in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. |
| Authors: |
Mitangala, Prudence Ndeba; Irenge Mwana Wa Bene, Léonid; Musubao, Edgar Tsongo; Kahindo, Jean Bosco Mbeva; Ayonga Ndeba, Patrick; Kyembwa Safari, Israël; Kubuya, Janvier Bonane; Ntabe, Edmon Namegabe; Kabangwa Senga, Raphaël Kakongo; Mutombo, Guy Ndongala; Ambroise, Jérôme; Gala, Jean-Luc |
| Contributors: |
UCL - SSS/IREC/CTMA - Centre de technologies moléculaires appliquées (plate-forme technologique) |
| Source: |
Epidemiology and infection, Vol. 151, p. e167 [1-6] (2023) |
| Publisher Information: |
Cambridge University Press |
| Publication Year: |
2023 |
| Collection: |
DIAL@USL-B (Université Saint-Louis, Bruxelles) |
| Subject Terms: |
Humans; Female; Male; Prevalence; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Cross-Sectional Studies; Seroepidemiologic Studies; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Antibodies; Viral; African paradox; COVID-19 infection; DRC; city markets; customers; seroprevalence; urban settlement; vendors |
| Description: |
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) officially reports low coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) prevalence. This cross-sectional study, conducted between September and November 2021, assessed the COVID-19 seroprevalence in people attending Goma's two largest markets, Kituku and Virunga. A similar study in a slum of Bukavu overlapped for 1 month using identical methods. COVID-19-unvaccinated participants (n = 796 including 454 vendors and 342 customers, 60% of whom were women) were surveyed. The median age of vendors and customers was 34.2 and 30.1 years, respectively. The crude and adjusted anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence rates were 70.2% (95% CI 66.9-73.4%) and 98.8% (95% CI 94.1-100%), respectively, with no difference between vendors and customers. COVID-19 symptoms reported by survey participants in the previous 6 months were mild or absent in 58.9% and 41.1% of participants with anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, respectively. No COVID-19-seropositive participants reported hospitalisation in the last 6 months. These findings are consistent with those reported in Bukavu. They confirm that SARS-CoV-2 spread without causing severe symptoms in densely populated settlements and markets and suggest that many COVID-19 cases went unreported. Based on these results, the relevance of an untargeted hypothetical vaccination programme in these communities should be questioned. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
boreal:283994; http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/283994; info:pmid/37724000 |
| DOI: |
10.1017/S0950268823001498 |
| Availability: |
http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/283994; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268823001498 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.B487CAEE |
| Database: |
BASE |