Abstract
BackgroundWhile Latin America has been heavily affected by the pandemic, only a few seroprevalence studies have been conducted there during the first epidemic wave in the first half of 2020.Methodology/Principal findingsA cross-sectional survey was performed between 15 July 2020 and 23 July 2020 among individuals who visited 4 medical laboratories or 5 health centers for routine screening or clinical management, with the exception of symptomatic suggestive cases of covid-19.Samples were screened for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG directed against domain S1 of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using the anti-SARS-CoV-2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from Euroimmun.Conclusions/SignificanceThe overall seroprevalence was 15.4% [9.3%-24.4%] among 480 participants, ranging from 4.0% to 25.5% across the different municipalities. The seroprevalence did not differ according to gender (p = 0.19) or age (p = 0.51). Among SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals, we found that 24.6% [11.5%-45.2%] reported symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Our findings revealed high levels of infection across the territory but a low number of resulting deaths, which can be explained by French Guiana’s young population structure.
Highlights
The world’s attention remains focused on the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the implementation of drastic control measures to limit its expansion
Our findings revealed high levels of infection across the territory but a low number of resulting deaths, which can be explained by French Guiana’s young population structure
Samples were screened for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG using the anti-SARSCoV-2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from Euroimmun
Summary
The world’s attention remains focused on the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the implementation of drastic control measures to limit its expansion. Latin America has been heavily affected by the pandemic, only a few seroprevalence studies have been conducted across the continent, meaning the underlying level of infection remains largely unknown [5,17,18]. In the middle of June there was a rapid intensification of viral circulation over a large part of the territory with 917 confirmed cases of COVID-19 detected from March 4th 2020 to June 11th 2020 [21]. This was followed by the implementation of strict mitigation measures such as curfews and local lockdowns in the course of June and July. While Latin America has been heavily affected by the pandemic, only a few seroprevalence studies have been conducted there during the first epidemic wave in the first half of 2020
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