Abstract
BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 emerged in China and spread throughout the world due to its rapid transmission. The exposure rate in the healthy population is unknown, mainly in resource-limited countries. Herein, we estimated the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and risk factors among blood donors in Luanda, the capital city of Angola.MethodsThis was a retrospective study conducted with 343 blood donors. Chi-square and logistic regression were calculated to predict the independent variable for SARS-CoV-2 infection and deemed significant when p < 0.05.ResultsSeroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 was 4.7%. Positivity rates varied to age groups (3.5–14.3%), gender (0–5%), area of residence (3.1–.6%), educational level (5.1–10.2%), occupation (4.4–7.7%), and the blood donor category (2.0–5.1%). Past and recent infections were detected in 3.2% and 1.5%, respectively. Blood donors under the age of 20 years (OR: 4.58, p = 0.241) and from non-urbanized areas (OR: 1.86, p = 0.293) presented a high risk related to infection. The infection was higher in blood group A and lower in blood group O. The risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection has increased from January 2020 (OR: 0.03, p = 0.001) to August 2020 (OR: 0.57, p = 0.426).ConclusionsWe provide an estimate of the exposure of healthy blood donors in Luanda. Also, we detected anti-SARS-CoV-2 in January 2020, indicating that the SARS-CoV-2 could have been imported during the first month of 2020. Further studies should be performed to assess the exposure rate in different groups from Angola.
Highlights
In December 2019, numerous cases of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerging from Wuhan, China, were registered [1, 2]
Study design and setting This was a retrospective cohort study which included 343 subjects who were apparently healthy for donation at the Instituto Nacional de Sangue and Clínica Girassol, both in Luanda, the capital city of Angola, between December 2019 to February 2020 and between July to September 2020
We observed that blood donors under the age of 20 years [OR: 4.58, p = 0.241] and from non-urbanized areas [OR: 1.86, p = 0.293] presented a high risk for test positive against SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, compared to blood donors aged 20 years and over and from urbanized areas, respectively
Summary
In December 2019, numerous cases of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerging from Wuhan, China, were registered [1, 2]. Some infected individuals have an asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, which constitutes a substantial source of transmission, as well as a potential challenge to prevent the spread of infection in the community [6,7,8]. There is no published study assessing antiSARS-CoV-2 antibodies in blood donors that donated before and after the identification of the first SARSCoV-2 cases in Angola. In the present investigation, we conducted a SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study among blood donors in order to identify the exposure rate in the healthy population from Luanda, the capital city and epicenter of COVID-19 in Angola. SARS-CoV-2 emerged in China and spread throughout the world due to its rapid transmission. We estimated the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and risk factors among blood donors in Luanda, the capital city of Angola
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