National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) Ministry of Public Health Yaoundé Cameroon.
Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (FMBS) University of Yaoundé I Yaoundé Cameroon.
Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2023 Nov 12;17(11):e13222. doi: 10.1111/irv.13222. eCollection 2023 Nov.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a public health emergency in all sectors of society, including universities and other academic institutions in Cameroon. However, little is known concerning the real prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections among student communities during the second wave of infection in Cameroon. This study aimed to estimate SARS-CoV-2 antibodies seroprevalence among participants in a university community in Cameroon.
A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2021 in 547 students aged ≥18 years during a mass diagnostic campaign at the School of Health Sciences of the Catholic University of Central Africa (ESS/UCAC). The anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody screening was done using the Panbio™ COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Diagnostic Test.
The overall seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 27%, of which 89.9% ( 133) was IgG, 6.7% ( 10) IgM and 3.4% ( 5) IgG/IgM positive. The undergraduate students represented 79% (432/547) of the total population and were highly positive with anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies 30% (130/432) as compared with postgraduate students 20% (23/115). The total antibody seropositivity was higher in males (34.4%) than females (24.9%). Several factors were associated with an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence including the male gender (OR: 1.61 [95% confidence interval, CI 1.0-2.4]), specialization to medical laboratory (OR: 2.8 [95% CI 1.1-7.1]) and nursing sciences (OR: 2.6 [95% CI 1.1-6.2]).
Our findings point to extensive and underreported circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in a university community during the second wave of infection in Cameroon, which likely resulted in artificially low case counts.
COVID-19 大流行已在包括喀麦隆大学在内的社会各界引发公共卫生紧急事件。然而，对于喀麦隆第二次感染浪潮期间学生群体中严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）感染的真实流行率知之甚少。本研究旨在估计喀麦隆一所大学社区参与者中 SARS-CoV-2 抗体的血清阳性率。
2021 年 3 月至 4 月，在中非天主教大学健康科学学院（ESS/UCAC）进行了一项大规模诊断运动，对 547 名年龄≥18 岁的学生进行了横断面研究。使用 Panbio™ COVID-19 IgG/IgM 快速诊断检测法进行抗 SARS-CoV-2 抗体筛查。
SARS-CoV-2 抗体的总体血清阳性率为 27%，其中 89.9%（133 人）为 IgG，6.7%（10 人）为 IgM，3.4%（5 人）为 IgG/IgM 阳性。本科生占总人数的 79%（432/547），对 SARS-CoV-2 抗体呈高度阳性，为 30%（130/432），而研究生为 20%（23/115）。男性（34.4%）的总抗体血清阳性率高于女性（24.9%）。包括男性性别（OR：1.61 [95%置信区间，CI 1.0-2.4]）、医学检验科专业（OR：2.8 [95% CI 1.1-7.1]）和护理科学专业（OR：2.6 [95% CI 1.1-6.2]）在内的多个因素与 SARS-CoV-2 血清阳性率升高相关。
我们的研究结果表明，在喀麦隆第二次感染浪潮期间，SARS-CoV-2 在大学社区中广泛传播，但报告不足，这可能导致人为地低估病例数。
