ArticleInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2022
SARS-CoV-2 prevalence and immunity: a hospital-based study from Malawi.
Article in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Observational
- SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibody profiles reveal variant specific antibody dynamics and regional differences in infection histories in Malawi.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Characterising protective immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in urban and rural Malawi between February 2021 and April 2022.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- COVID-19 severity and vaccine effectiveness in Malawi: A test-negative case-control study.Journal of public health in Africa · 2025Article
- High SARS-CoV-2 Exposure in Rural Southern Mozambique After Four Waves of COVID-19: Community-Based Seroepidemiological Surveys.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2024Article
- Prevalence of Endemic Respiratory Viruses During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Urban and Rural Malawi.Open forum infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Utilizing river and wastewater as a SARS-CoV-2 surveillance tool in settings with limited formal sewage systems.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Reduced incidence of respiratory, gastrointestinal and malaria infections among children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Western Kenya: An analysis of facility-based and weekly diaries data.Journal of global health · 2023Article
- Household costs and care seeking patterns associated with COVID-19 in Blantyre, Malawi.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Population-based sero-epidemiological investigation of the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Lower SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence among Cancer Patients in Sub-Saharan Africa.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Serological surveillance of healthcare workers to evaluate natural infection- and vaccine-derived immunity to SARS-CoV-2 during an outbreak in Dili, Timor-Leste.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022Article
- Digital health systems strengthening in Africa for rapid response to COVID-19.Frontiers in health services · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCOVID-19 transmission and disease dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa are not well understood. Our study aims to provide insight into COVID-19 epidemiology in Malawi by estimating SARS-CoV-2 prevalence and immunity after SARS-CoV-2 infection in a hospital-based setting.
methodsWe conducted a hospital-based, convenience sampling, cross-sectional survey for SARS-CoV-2 in Lilongwe, Malawi. Participants answered a questionnaire and were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) was performed in seropositive samples to estimate immunity. Poisson regression was used to assess SARS-CoV-2 point prevalence association with demographic and behavioral variables.
findingsThe study included 930 participants. We found a combined point prevalence of 10.1%. Separately analyzed, RT-PCR positivity was 2.0%, and seropositivity was 9.3%. Of tested seropositive samples, 90.1% were sVNT positive. We found a high rate (45.7%) of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 point prevalence was significantly associated with being a healthcare worker.
interpretationOur study suggests that official data underestimate COVID-19 transmission. Using sVNTs to estimate immunity in Malawi is feasible and revealed considerable post-infection immunity in our cohort. Subclinical infection and transmission are probably a game-changer in surveillance, mitigation and vaccination strategies.
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