Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in four states of Nigeria in October 2020: A population-based household survey.

• Main Authors: Rosemary A Audu (Author), Kristen A Stafford (Author), Laura Steinhardt (Author), Zaidat A Musa (Author), Nnaemeka Iriemenam (Author), Elsie Ilori (Author), Natalia Blanco (Author), Andrew Mitchell (Author), Yohhei Hamada (Author), Mirna Moloney (Author), Emem Iwara (Author), Alash'le Abimiku (Author), Fehintola A Ige (Author), Nwachukwu E William (Author), Ehimario Igumbor (Author), Chinwe Ochu (Author), Adesuyi A Omoare (Author), Olumide Okunoye (Author), Stacie M Greby (Author), Molebogeng X Rangaka (Author), Andrew Copas (Author), Ibrahim Dalhatu (Author), Ibrahim Abubakar (Author), Stephen McCracken (Author), Matthias Alagi (Author), Nwando Mba (Author), Ahumibe Anthony (Author), McPaul Okoye (Author), Catherine Okoi (Author), Oliver C Ezechi (Author), Babatunde L Salako (Author), Chikwe Ihekweazu (Author), Nigeria SARS- (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

The observed epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in sub-Saharan Africa has varied greatly from that in Europe and the United States, with much lower reported incidence. Population-based studies are needed to estimate true cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 to inform public health interventions. This study estimated SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in four selected states in Nigeria in October 2020. We implemented a two-stage cluster sample household survey in four Nigerian states (Enugu, Gombe, Lagos, and Nasarawa) to estimate age-stratified prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. All individuals in sampled households were eligible for interview, blood draw, and nasal/oropharyngeal swab collection. We additionally tested participants for current/recent malaria infection. Seroprevalence estimates were calculated accounting for the complex survey design. Across all four states, 10,629 (96·5%) of 11,015 interviewed individuals provided blood samples. The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 25·2% (95% CI 21·8-28·6) in Enugu State, 9·3% (95% CI 7·0-11·5) in Gombe State, 23·3% (95% CI 20·5-26·4) in Lagos State, and 18·0% (95% CI 14·4-21·6) in Nasarawa State. Prevalence of current/recent malaria infection ranged from 2·8% in Lagos to 45·8% in Gombe and was not significantly related to SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence. The prevalence of active SARS-CoV-2 infection in the four states during the survey period was 0·2% (95% CI 0·1-0·4). Approximately eight months after the first reported COVID-19 case in Nigeria, seroprevalence indicated infection levels 194 times higher than the 24,198 officially reported COVID-19 cases across the four states; however, most of the population remained susceptible to COVID-19 in October 2020.

Item Description

2767-3375
10.1371/journal.pgph.0000363