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)
• 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