Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in urban settings in three sub-Saharan African countries (SeroCoV): a study protocol for a household-based cross-sectional prevalence study using two-stage cluster sampling

Introduction The current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire world with increasing morbidity and mortality and has resulted in serious economic and social consequences. Assessing the burden of COVID-19 is essential for developing efficient pandemic preparedness and response strategies and for...

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Main Authors: John Amuasi, Raphaël Rakotozandrindrainy, Ali Sie, Daniel Eibach, Aurélia Souares, Eva Lorenz, Jürgen May, Wibke Loag, Christina Deschermeier, Daniela Fusco, Dominik Benke, Rivo A Rakotoarivelo, Mandranto Tahinamandranto Rasamoelina, Anthony Afum-Adjei Awuah, Nicole Struck
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-12-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e056853.full
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author John Amuasi
Raphaël Rakotozandrindrainy
Ali Sie
Daniel Eibach
Aurélia Souares
Eva Lorenz
Jürgen May
Wibke Loag
Christina Deschermeier
Daniela Fusco
Dominik Benke
Rivo A Rakotoarivelo
Mandranto Tahinamandranto Rasamoelina
Anthony Afum-Adjei Awuah
Nicole Struck
author_facet John Amuasi
Raphaël Rakotozandrindrainy
Ali Sie
Daniel Eibach
Aurélia Souares
Eva Lorenz
Jürgen May
Wibke Loag
Christina Deschermeier
Daniela Fusco
Dominik Benke
Rivo A Rakotoarivelo
Mandranto Tahinamandranto Rasamoelina
Anthony Afum-Adjei Awuah
Nicole Struck
author_sort John Amuasi
collection DOAJ
description Introduction The current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire world with increasing morbidity and mortality and has resulted in serious economic and social consequences. Assessing the burden of COVID-19 is essential for developing efficient pandemic preparedness and response strategies and for determining the impact of implemented control measures. Population-based seroprevalence surveys are critical to estimate infection rates, monitor the progression of the epidemic and to allow for the identification of persons exposed to the infection who may either have been asymptomatic or were never tested. This is especially important for countries where effective testing and tracking systems could not be established and where non-severe cases or under-reported deaths might have blurred the true burden of COVID-19. Most seroprevalence surveys performed in sub-Saharan Africa have targeted specific high risk or more easily accessible populations such as healthcare workers or blood donors, and household-based estimates are rarely available. Here, we present the study protocol for a SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence estimation in the general population of Burkina Faso, Ghana and Madagascar in 2021.Methods and analysis The SeroCoV study is a household-based cross-sectional prevalence investigation in persons aged 10 years and older living in urban areas in six cities using a two-stage geographical cluster sampling method stratified by age and sex. The presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies will be determined using a sensitive and specific SARS-CoV-2 IgG ELISA. In addition, questionnaires will cover sociodemographic information, episodes of diseases and history of testing and treatment for COVID-like symptoms, travel history and safety measures. We will estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2, taking into account test performance and adjusting for the age and sex of the respective populations.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was received for all participating countries. Results will be disseminated through reports and presentations at the country level as well as peer-reviewed publications and international scientific conferences presentations.
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spelling doaj-art-d9a635f8802d42dbac0ebb471c8ef3ee2025-08-20T02:30:51ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552021-12-01111210.1136/bmjopen-2021-056853Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in urban settings in three sub-Saharan African countries (SeroCoV): a study protocol for a household-based cross-sectional prevalence study using two-stage cluster samplingJohn Amuasi0Raphaël Rakotozandrindrainy1Ali Sie2Daniel Eibach3Aurélia Souares4Eva Lorenz5Jürgen May6Wibke Loag7Christina Deschermeier8Daniela Fusco9Dominik Benke10Rivo A Rakotoarivelo11Mandranto Tahinamandranto Rasamoelina12Anthony Afum-Adjei Awuah13Nicole Struck142 Department of Implementation Research, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, GermanyUniversite dAntananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar7 Centre de Recherche en Sante de Nouna, Nouna, Boucle du Mouhoun, Burkina FasoInfectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, GermanyUniversitatsklinikum Heidelberg Institut fur Global Health, Heidelberg, GermanyInstitute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany10 Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, GermanyInfectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, GermanyInfectious Disease Diagnostics, Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, GermanyGerman Center for Infection Research Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems Site, Hamburg, GermanyInfectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, GermanyFaculty of Medicine, University of Fianarantsoa, Fianarantsoa, MadagascarCentre d’Infectiologie Charles Méreiux, Antananarivo, MadagascarKumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, GhanaInfectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, GermanyIntroduction The current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire world with increasing morbidity and mortality and has resulted in serious economic and social consequences. Assessing the burden of COVID-19 is essential for developing efficient pandemic preparedness and response strategies and for determining the impact of implemented control measures. Population-based seroprevalence surveys are critical to estimate infection rates, monitor the progression of the epidemic and to allow for the identification of persons exposed to the infection who may either have been asymptomatic or were never tested. This is especially important for countries where effective testing and tracking systems could not be established and where non-severe cases or under-reported deaths might have blurred the true burden of COVID-19. Most seroprevalence surveys performed in sub-Saharan Africa have targeted specific high risk or more easily accessible populations such as healthcare workers or blood donors, and household-based estimates are rarely available. Here, we present the study protocol for a SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence estimation in the general population of Burkina Faso, Ghana and Madagascar in 2021.Methods and analysis The SeroCoV study is a household-based cross-sectional prevalence investigation in persons aged 10 years and older living in urban areas in six cities using a two-stage geographical cluster sampling method stratified by age and sex. The presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies will be determined using a sensitive and specific SARS-CoV-2 IgG ELISA. In addition, questionnaires will cover sociodemographic information, episodes of diseases and history of testing and treatment for COVID-like symptoms, travel history and safety measures. We will estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2, taking into account test performance and adjusting for the age and sex of the respective populations.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was received for all participating countries. Results will be disseminated through reports and presentations at the country level as well as peer-reviewed publications and international scientific conferences presentations.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e056853.full
spellingShingle John Amuasi
Raphaël Rakotozandrindrainy
Ali Sie
Daniel Eibach
Aurélia Souares
Eva Lorenz
Jürgen May
Wibke Loag
Christina Deschermeier
Daniela Fusco
Dominik Benke
Rivo A Rakotoarivelo
Mandranto Tahinamandranto Rasamoelina
Anthony Afum-Adjei Awuah
Nicole Struck
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in urban settings in three sub-Saharan African countries (SeroCoV): a study protocol for a household-based cross-sectional prevalence study using two-stage cluster sampling
BMJ Open
title Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in urban settings in three sub-Saharan African countries (SeroCoV): a study protocol for a household-based cross-sectional prevalence study using two-stage cluster sampling
title_full Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in urban settings in three sub-Saharan African countries (SeroCoV): a study protocol for a household-based cross-sectional prevalence study using two-stage cluster sampling
title_fullStr Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in urban settings in three sub-Saharan African countries (SeroCoV): a study protocol for a household-based cross-sectional prevalence study using two-stage cluster sampling
title_full_unstemmed Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in urban settings in three sub-Saharan African countries (SeroCoV): a study protocol for a household-based cross-sectional prevalence study using two-stage cluster sampling
title_short Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in urban settings in three sub-Saharan African countries (SeroCoV): a study protocol for a household-based cross-sectional prevalence study using two-stage cluster sampling
title_sort seroprevalence of sars cov 2 in urban settings in three sub saharan african countries serocov a study protocol for a household based cross sectional prevalence study using two stage cluster sampling
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e056853.full
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