Seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of pregnant women and their infants in Uganda and Malawi.

<h4>Background</h4>Data on SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and infancy has accumulated throughout the course of the pandemic, though evidence regarding asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and adverse birth outcomes are scarce. Limited information is available from countries in sub-Sahara...

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Main Authors: Lauren Hookham, Liberty Cantrell, Stephen Cose, Bridget Freyne, Luis Gadama, Esther Imede, Kondwani Kawaza, Samantha Lissauer, Phillipa Musoke, Victoria Nankabirwa, Musa Sekikubo, Halvor Sommerfelt, Merryn Voysey, Kirsty Le Doare, periCOVID Consortium
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0290913&type=printable
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author Lauren Hookham
Liberty Cantrell
Stephen Cose
Bridget Freyne
Luis Gadama
Esther Imede
Kondwani Kawaza
Samantha Lissauer
Phillipa Musoke
Victoria Nankabirwa
Musa Sekikubo
Halvor Sommerfelt
Merryn Voysey
Kirsty Le Doare
periCOVID Consortium
author_facet Lauren Hookham
Liberty Cantrell
Stephen Cose
Bridget Freyne
Luis Gadama
Esther Imede
Kondwani Kawaza
Samantha Lissauer
Phillipa Musoke
Victoria Nankabirwa
Musa Sekikubo
Halvor Sommerfelt
Merryn Voysey
Kirsty Le Doare
periCOVID Consortium
author_sort Lauren Hookham
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Data on SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and infancy has accumulated throughout the course of the pandemic, though evidence regarding asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and adverse birth outcomes are scarce. Limited information is available from countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The pregnant woman and infant COVID in Africa study (PeriCOVID Africa) is a South-South-North partnership involving hospitals and health centres in five countries: Malawi, Uganda, Mozambique, The Gambia, and Kenya. The study leveraged data from three ongoing prospective cohort studies: Preparing for Group B Streptococcal Vaccines (GBS PREPARE), SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 in women and their infants in Kampala and Mukono (COMAC) and Pregnancy Care Integrating Translational Science Everywhere (PRECISE). In this paper we describe the seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women enrolled in sites in Uganda and Malawi, and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnancy and infant outcomes.<h4>Outcome</h4>Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in maternal blood, reported as the proportion of seropositive women by study site and wave of COVID-19 within each country.<h4>Methods</h4>The PeriCOVID study was a prospective mother-infant cohort study that recruited pregnant women at any gestation antenatally or on the day of delivery. Maternal and cord blood samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using Wantai and Euroimmune ELISA. In periCOVID Uganda and Malawi nose and throat swabs for SARS-Cov-2 RT-PCR were obtained.<h4>Results</h4>In total, 1379 women were enrolled, giving birth to 1387 infants. Overall, 63% of pregnant women had a SARS-CoV-2 positive serology. Over subsequent waves (delta and omicron), in the absence of vaccination, seropositivity rose from 20% to over 80%. The placental transfer GMR was 1.7, indicating active placental transfer of anti-spike IgG. There was no association between SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity and adverse pregnancy or infancy outcomes.
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spelling doaj-art-c673b8e9537d4fb88d87e21ffb020b432025-08-20T02:31:41ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-01193e029091310.1371/journal.pone.0290913Seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of pregnant women and their infants in Uganda and Malawi.Lauren HookhamLiberty CantrellStephen CoseBridget FreyneLuis GadamaEsther ImedeKondwani KawazaSamantha LissauerPhillipa MusokeVictoria NankabirwaMusa SekikuboHalvor SommerfeltMerryn VoyseyKirsty Le DoareperiCOVID Consortium<h4>Background</h4>Data on SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and infancy has accumulated throughout the course of the pandemic, though evidence regarding asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and adverse birth outcomes are scarce. Limited information is available from countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The pregnant woman and infant COVID in Africa study (PeriCOVID Africa) is a South-South-North partnership involving hospitals and health centres in five countries: Malawi, Uganda, Mozambique, The Gambia, and Kenya. The study leveraged data from three ongoing prospective cohort studies: Preparing for Group B Streptococcal Vaccines (GBS PREPARE), SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 in women and their infants in Kampala and Mukono (COMAC) and Pregnancy Care Integrating Translational Science Everywhere (PRECISE). In this paper we describe the seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women enrolled in sites in Uganda and Malawi, and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnancy and infant outcomes.<h4>Outcome</h4>Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in maternal blood, reported as the proportion of seropositive women by study site and wave of COVID-19 within each country.<h4>Methods</h4>The PeriCOVID study was a prospective mother-infant cohort study that recruited pregnant women at any gestation antenatally or on the day of delivery. Maternal and cord blood samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using Wantai and Euroimmune ELISA. In periCOVID Uganda and Malawi nose and throat swabs for SARS-Cov-2 RT-PCR were obtained.<h4>Results</h4>In total, 1379 women were enrolled, giving birth to 1387 infants. Overall, 63% of pregnant women had a SARS-CoV-2 positive serology. Over subsequent waves (delta and omicron), in the absence of vaccination, seropositivity rose from 20% to over 80%. The placental transfer GMR was 1.7, indicating active placental transfer of anti-spike IgG. There was no association between SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity and adverse pregnancy or infancy outcomes.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0290913&type=printable
spellingShingle Lauren Hookham
Liberty Cantrell
Stephen Cose
Bridget Freyne
Luis Gadama
Esther Imede
Kondwani Kawaza
Samantha Lissauer
Phillipa Musoke
Victoria Nankabirwa
Musa Sekikubo
Halvor Sommerfelt
Merryn Voysey
Kirsty Le Doare
periCOVID Consortium
Seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of pregnant women and their infants in Uganda and Malawi.
PLoS ONE
title Seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of pregnant women and their infants in Uganda and Malawi.
title_full Seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of pregnant women and their infants in Uganda and Malawi.
title_fullStr Seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of pregnant women and their infants in Uganda and Malawi.
title_full_unstemmed Seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of pregnant women and their infants in Uganda and Malawi.
title_short Seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of pregnant women and their infants in Uganda and Malawi.
title_sort seroepidemiology of sars cov 2 in a cohort of pregnant women and their infants in uganda and malawi
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0290913&type=printable
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