1. Seroprevalence of anti–SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in Kenyan blood donors
- Author
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Elizabeth Odhiambo, Irene Orgut, Kadondi Kasera, George M. Warimwe, Ifedayo M. O. Adetifa, Shirine Voller, Christine Yegon, Wangari Ng’ang’a, Leonard Ndwiga, Christian Bottomley, Eunice W. Kagucia, Mark Otiende, Edwine Barasa, James Nyagwange, Charles Rombo, Teresa Lambe, Anthony Etyang, Ambrose Agweyu, Perpetual Wanjiku, J. Anthony G. Scott, Sophie Uyoga, Khamisi Kithi, James Tuju, Thomas Rotich, Daisy Mugo, Edward Otieno, Sammy Kihara, Daniel B. Wright, Zonia N. Mupe, Katherine E. Gallagher, Patrick Amoth, Charles N. Agoti, John N. Gitonga, Philip Bejon, Rashid Aman, Mercy Mwangangi, Henry K. Karanja, Lynette Isabella Ochola-Oyier, and Benjamin Tsofa
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Adult ,0301 basic medicine ,Complete data ,Kenya ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ,Population ,Blood Donors ,Antibodies, Viral ,Immunoglobulin G ,Young Adult ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Medical microbiology ,Seroepidemiologic Studies ,Environmental health ,Pandemic ,Epidemiology ,Global health ,medicine ,Humans ,Seroprevalence ,030212 general & internal medicine ,education ,Aged ,education.field_of_study ,Multidisciplinary ,biology ,SARS-CoV-2 ,business.industry ,Outbreak ,virus diseases ,COVID-19 ,Middle Aged ,Multilevel regression ,Confidence interval ,030104 developmental biology ,Communicable Disease Control ,biology.protein ,Antibody ,business ,Demography - Abstract
BackgroundThere are no data on SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Africa though the COVID-19 epidemic curve and reported mortality differ from patterns seen elsewhere. We estimated the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence among blood donors in Kenya.MethodsWe measured anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike IgG prevalence by ELISA on residual blood donor samples obtained between April 30 and June 16, 2020. Assay sensitivity and specificity were 83% (95% CI 59-96%) and 99.0% (95% CI 98.1-99.5%), respectively. National seroprevalence was estimated using Bayesian multilevel regression and post-stratification to account for non-random sampling with respect to age, sex and region, adjusted for assay performance.ResultsComplete data were available for 3098 of 3174 donors, aged 15-64 years. By comparison with the Kenyan population, the sample over- represented males (82% versus 49%), adults aged 25-34 years (40% versus 27%) and residents of coastal Counties (49% versus 9%). Crude overall seroprevalence was 5.6% (174/3098). Population-weighted, test- adjusted national seroprevalence was 5.2% (95% CI 3.7– 7.1%). Seroprevalence was highest in the 3 largest urban Counties - Mombasa (9.3% [95% CI 6.4-13.2%)], Nairobi (8.5% [95% CI 4.9-13.5%]) and Kisumu (6.5% [95% CI 3.3-11.2%]).ConclusionsWe estimate that 1 in 20 adults in Kenya had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies during the study period. By the median date of our survey, only 2093 COVID-19 cases and 71 deaths had been reported through the national screening system. This contrasts, by several orders of magnitude, with the numbers of cases and deaths reported in parts of Europe and America when seroprevalence was similar.
- Published
- 2020
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