High immunity and low mortality after Omicron and mass event in Cameroon despite low vaccination
Background: Little is known about the evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunity in African communities. Aim: We evaluated changes in anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, mortality and vaccination status in Cameroon between August 2021 and September 2022 to begin desc...
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| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Public Health in Africa |
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| Online Access: | https://publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/article/view/649 |
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| author | Yap Boum II Lucrece Matchim Dominique K. Guimsop Bongkiyung D. Buri Lisa M. Bebell Yuya S.F. Jaudel Fai K.G. Njuwa Daniel B. Danirla Eric Youm Rodrigue Ntone Claudric Roosevelt Tchame Dora Tchiasso Rachelle Essaka Justin B. Eyong Audrey Ngosso Herwin Nanda Nsaibirni R. Fondze Mark Ndifon Ndifon Lucrèce Eteki Yonta F.C. Ghislain Bruno Yannick Eyenga Messi Hamadou Moustapha Moustafa Hamdja René Ghislain Essomba Nadia Mandeng Tamakloe A.K. Modeste Anne-Cécile Zoung-Kani Bisseck Sara Irène Eyangoh Richard Njouom Marie Claire Okomo Linda Esso Epee Emilienne Georges-Alain Etoundi Mballa |
| author_facet | Yap Boum II Lucrece Matchim Dominique K. Guimsop Bongkiyung D. Buri Lisa M. Bebell Yuya S.F. Jaudel Fai K.G. Njuwa Daniel B. Danirla Eric Youm Rodrigue Ntone Claudric Roosevelt Tchame Dora Tchiasso Rachelle Essaka Justin B. Eyong Audrey Ngosso Herwin Nanda Nsaibirni R. Fondze Mark Ndifon Ndifon Lucrèce Eteki Yonta F.C. Ghislain Bruno Yannick Eyenga Messi Hamadou Moustapha Moustafa Hamdja René Ghislain Essomba Nadia Mandeng Tamakloe A.K. Modeste Anne-Cécile Zoung-Kani Bisseck Sara Irène Eyangoh Richard Njouom Marie Claire Okomo Linda Esso Epee Emilienne Georges-Alain Etoundi Mballa |
| author_sort | Yap Boum II |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Little is known about the evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunity in African communities.
Aim: We evaluated changes in anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, mortality and vaccination status in Cameroon between August 2021 and September 2022 to begin describing the evolution of the pandemic in Africa.
Setting: The study was conducted across Cameroon’s 10 regional capitals, between 2021 and 2022 as the country hosted a mass gathering.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional population-based survey in 2022, including SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence testing and retrospective mortality estimation using two-stage cluster sampling. We estimated and compared seroprevalence and crude mortality rates (CMR) to a survey conducted in 2021 using the same methodology.
Results: We performed serologic testing on 8400 individuals and collected mortality data from 22 314 individuals. Approximately 5% in each survey reported SARS-CoV-2-vaccination. Rapid diagnostic test-based seroprevalence increased from 11.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 10–12.5) to 59.8% (95% CI: 58.3–61.2) between 2021 and 2022, despite no increase in the proportion vaccinated. The CMR decreased from 0.17 to 0.06 deaths per 10 000 persons per day between 2021 and 2022. In 2022, no deaths were reportedly attributable to COVID-19 as compared to 17 deaths in 2021.
Conclusion: Over a 12-month period encompassing two waves of omicron variant SARS-CoV-2 and a mass gathering, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in Cameroon approached 60%, and deaths declined despite low vaccination coverage.
Contribution: This study challenges the assumption that high immunisation coverage is the sole determinant of epidemic control in the African context and encourages policymakers to increasingly rely on local research when designing response strategies for more effective outbreak management. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5a474ee00f2547de80a34154d191cc00 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2038-9922 2038-9930 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Public Health in Africa |
| spelling | doaj-art-5a474ee00f2547de80a34154d191cc002025-08-20T03:48:52ZengAOSISJournal of Public Health in Africa2038-99222038-99302024-11-01151e1e1010.4102/jphia.v15i1.649459High immunity and low mortality after Omicron and mass event in Cameroon despite low vaccinationYap Boum II0Lucrece Matchim1Dominique K. Guimsop2Bongkiyung D. Buri3Lisa M. Bebell4Yuya S.F. Jaudel5Fai K.G. Njuwa6Daniel B. Danirla7Eric Youm8Rodrigue Ntone9Claudric Roosevelt Tchame10Dora Tchiasso11Rachelle Essaka12Justin B. Eyong13Audrey Ngosso14Herwin Nanda15Nsaibirni R. Fondze16Mark Ndifon Ndifon17Lucrèce Eteki18Yonta F.C. Ghislain19Bruno Yannick Eyenga Messi20Hamadou Moustapha21Moustafa Hamdja22René Ghislain Essomba23Nadia Mandeng24Tamakloe A.K. Modeste25Anne-Cécile Zoung-Kani Bisseck26Sara Irène Eyangoh27Richard Njouom28Marie Claire Okomo29Linda Esso30Epee Emilienne31Georges-Alain Etoundi Mballa32Public Health Emergency Operation Center, Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Epicentre, Yaoundé, Cameroon; and Faculty of Biomedical Medicine and Science, University of Yaoundé I, YaoundéEpicentre, YaoundéDepartment for the Control of Disease, Epidemics and Pandemics, Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon; and Western Africa Regional Coordination Center, Africa Centers for Disease Control, AbujaEpicentre, YaoundéDepartment of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsEpicentre, ParisEpicentre, YaoundéEpicentre, YaoundéEpicentre, ParisEpicentre, YaoundéDepartment for the Control of Disease, Epidemics and Pandemics, Ministry of Public Health, YaoundéEpicentre, YaoundéLaboratoire du Lac, YaoundéEpicentre, YaoundéEpicentre, YaoundéEpicentre, YaoundéEpicentre, ParisEpicentre, ParisEpicentre, YaoundéEpicentre, YaoundéEpicentre, YaoundéEpicentre, YaoundéEpicentre, YaoundéNational Public Health Laboratory, YaoundéPublic Health Emergency Operation Center, Ministry of Public Health, YaoundéMédecins Sans Frontières Suisse, YaoundéHealth Operations Research Division, Ministry of Public Health, YaoundéCentre Pasteur du Cameroon, YaoundéCentre Pasteur du Cameroon, YaoundéNational Public Health Laboratory, YaoundéPublic Health Emergency Operation Center, Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon; and Department for the Control of Disease, Epidemics and Pandemics, YaoundéPublic Health Emergency Operation Center, Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon; and Department for the Control of Disease, Epidemics and Pandemics, Ministry of Public Health, YaoundéPublic Health Emergency Operation Center, Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon; and Department for the Control of Disease, Epidemics and Pandemics, Ministry of Public Health, YaoundéBackground: Little is known about the evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunity in African communities. Aim: We evaluated changes in anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, mortality and vaccination status in Cameroon between August 2021 and September 2022 to begin describing the evolution of the pandemic in Africa. Setting: The study was conducted across Cameroon’s 10 regional capitals, between 2021 and 2022 as the country hosted a mass gathering. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional population-based survey in 2022, including SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence testing and retrospective mortality estimation using two-stage cluster sampling. We estimated and compared seroprevalence and crude mortality rates (CMR) to a survey conducted in 2021 using the same methodology. Results: We performed serologic testing on 8400 individuals and collected mortality data from 22 314 individuals. Approximately 5% in each survey reported SARS-CoV-2-vaccination. Rapid diagnostic test-based seroprevalence increased from 11.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 10–12.5) to 59.8% (95% CI: 58.3–61.2) between 2021 and 2022, despite no increase in the proportion vaccinated. The CMR decreased from 0.17 to 0.06 deaths per 10 000 persons per day between 2021 and 2022. In 2022, no deaths were reportedly attributable to COVID-19 as compared to 17 deaths in 2021. Conclusion: Over a 12-month period encompassing two waves of omicron variant SARS-CoV-2 and a mass gathering, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in Cameroon approached 60%, and deaths declined despite low vaccination coverage. Contribution: This study challenges the assumption that high immunisation coverage is the sole determinant of epidemic control in the African context and encourages policymakers to increasingly rely on local research when designing response strategies for more effective outbreak management.https://publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/article/view/649seroprevalencesars-cov-2mortalityimmunityafrica. |
| spellingShingle | Yap Boum II Lucrece Matchim Dominique K. Guimsop Bongkiyung D. Buri Lisa M. Bebell Yuya S.F. Jaudel Fai K.G. Njuwa Daniel B. Danirla Eric Youm Rodrigue Ntone Claudric Roosevelt Tchame Dora Tchiasso Rachelle Essaka Justin B. Eyong Audrey Ngosso Herwin Nanda Nsaibirni R. Fondze Mark Ndifon Ndifon Lucrèce Eteki Yonta F.C. Ghislain Bruno Yannick Eyenga Messi Hamadou Moustapha Moustafa Hamdja René Ghislain Essomba Nadia Mandeng Tamakloe A.K. Modeste Anne-Cécile Zoung-Kani Bisseck Sara Irène Eyangoh Richard Njouom Marie Claire Okomo Linda Esso Epee Emilienne Georges-Alain Etoundi Mballa High immunity and low mortality after Omicron and mass event in Cameroon despite low vaccination Journal of Public Health in Africa seroprevalence sars-cov-2 mortality immunity africa. |
| title | High immunity and low mortality after Omicron and mass event in Cameroon despite low vaccination |
| title_full | High immunity and low mortality after Omicron and mass event in Cameroon despite low vaccination |
| title_fullStr | High immunity and low mortality after Omicron and mass event in Cameroon despite low vaccination |
| title_full_unstemmed | High immunity and low mortality after Omicron and mass event in Cameroon despite low vaccination |
| title_short | High immunity and low mortality after Omicron and mass event in Cameroon despite low vaccination |
| title_sort | high immunity and low mortality after omicron and mass event in cameroon despite low vaccination |
| topic | seroprevalence sars-cov-2 mortality immunity africa. |
| url | https://publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/article/view/649 |
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