Ateudjieu Jerome, Tchio-Nighie Ketina Hirma, Hoppe Anne, Guenou Etienne, Nzinnou Mbiaketcha Imelda Sonia, Bita'a Landry Beyala, Ngomtcho Claudine Sen Henriette, Bissek Anne Cecile
Department of Health Research, Meilleur Accès aux Soins de Santé, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2024 Sep 10;112(4_Suppl):92-98. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0778. Print 2025 Apr 1.
The movement of people contributes to the spread of COVID-19 between communities. Hence, we evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of offering intercity bus travelers testing prior to their departure. We conducted baseline and endline surveys to map COVID-19 prevention practices in travel agencies in western Cameroon. As interventions, buses were randomly assigned to three study arms: 1) offering systematic COVID-19 rapid diagnostic testing (RDT) to all passengers (arm A); 2) offering testing to suspected cases (arm B); or 3) no testing (arm C). All travelers were called 7-10 days after their trip to identify potential cases. Fifty-five (90.2%) of the 61 travel agencies that were reached consented to participate in a baseline survey. Although only 27 (49.1%) of the agencies implemented at least one of the recommended COVID-19 preventive measures, 39 (70.9%) agreed to host a testing station. Six agencies were selected, and 669 buses were enrolled, including 223, 224, and 222 in arms A, B, and C, respectively. A total of 31,484 departing passengers were approached and 9,594 (30.5%) agreed to participate: 1,177 (12.3%) in arm A, 4,086 (42.6%) in arm B, and 4,331 (45.1%) in arm C. In all, 1,731 tests were performed, including 1,177 in arm A and 554 in arm B. Fourteen (0.8%) tests were positive, and two participants (14.3%) agreed to postpone their travel. Offering testing with antigen RDTs in travel agencies is feasible and acceptable. One-third of passengers consented, and testing did not delay any travels. Although this approach can detect COVID-19 cases, actions are needed to increase the proportion of positive cases postponing their travels.
人员流动促使新冠病毒在社区间传播。因此，我们评估了在城市间巴士乘客出发前为其提供检测的可行性、可接受性及影响。我们开展了基线调查和终期调查，以梳理喀麦隆西部旅行社的新冠病毒预防措施。作为干预措施，巴士被随机分配到三个研究组：1）为所有乘客提供系统性新冠病毒快速诊断检测（RDT）（A组）；2）为疑似病例提供检测（B组）；或3）不进行检测（C组）。所有旅行者在行程结束7至10天后接受电话随访，以确定潜在病例。联系到的61家旅行社中有55家（90.2%）同意参与基线调查。尽管只有27家（49.1%）旅行社实施了至少一项推荐的新冠病毒预防措施，但39家（70.9%）同意设立检测站。选取了6家旅行社，登记了669辆巴士，其中A组、B组和C组分别有223辆、224辆和222辆。共接触了31484名出发乘客，9594名（30.5%）同意参与：A组1177名（12.3%），B组4086名（42.6%），C组4331名（45.1%）。总共进行了1731次检测，其中A组1177次，B组554次。14次（0.8%）检测呈阳性，两名参与者（14.3%）同意推迟行程。在旅行社提供抗原RDT检测是可行且可接受的。三分之一的乘客同意检测，且检测未延误任何行程。尽管这种方法能够检测出新冠病毒病例，但仍需采取行动提高阳性病例推迟行程的比例。
