Author(s)

Clotaire Donatien Rafaï^1,2*, Marie-Roseline Darnycka Belizaire³, Pierre Somse⁴, Wilfrid Sylvain Nambei², Ernest Lango-Yaya^1,2, Oscar Senzongo¹, Luc Salva Hereidebona⁴, Ulrich Jeffrey Kotemossoua¹, Rabbi Mermoz Senekian¹, Simon Pounguinza¹, Christian-Diamant Mossoro-Kpinde², Alain Le Faou⁵, Jean De Dieu Longo^2,4, François-Xavier Mbopi-Keou⁶, Gérard Grésenguet², Boniface Koffi^1,2

¹National Laboratory of Clinical Biology and Public Health, Bangui, Central African Republic.
²Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bangui, Bangui, Central African Republic.
³World Health Organization, Bangui, Central African Republic.
⁴Ministry of Health and Population, Bangui, Central African Republic.
⁵Faculty of Medicine, Maieutic and Health Sciences, University of Lorraine, Pole Brabois Santé, Nancy, France.
⁶Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroun.

Objective: COVID-19 surveillance was established as early as March 2020 in the Central African Republic (CAR), after the WHO statement relating to the identification of several cases outside China. However, given the non-performing molecular biology technical platform in many developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the second wave promised to be surprising and formidable. In this context, a mass survey was launched in Bangui to determine the prevalence of COVID-19. Patients and Methods: From March 18 to April 2, 2021, a mass screening campaign took place in tourist places, companies and the main hospital infrastructures. Nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from participants with and without symptoms of Influenza-like illness (ILI) and stored in VTM tubes. The Ag (COVID-19) and RT-PCR tests were carried out in Bangui at the LNBCSP. The sequencing of RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 positives was carried out at the INRB. Results: We included 1480 participants of whom 33 (2.23%) were SARS-COV-2 positive, of whom 24 were male and 9 female. This sex difference was statistically significant (p = 0.012) as the sex ratio M/F was 1.09. Sampling sites located in the 1st arrondissement were the most prolific (p = 0.006) and were sequenced. In addition to the analysis of the 33 samples from the predefined sites under study, 17 control sequences from the provinces generated during the same period are added. We detected 2 Variants Of Concern (VOC) including the predominant B.1.620 (43.86%) followed by B.1.1.7 or Alpha (5.10%). Conclusion: The study showed the importance of surveillance and the availability of means of diagnosis of COVID-19. The identified risk factors were sex and sampling site. This study has shown the importance of setting up sentinel sites for COVID-19 surveillance in all regions of the country and the appropriate use of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19, Variants, Central African Republic

Rafaï, C. , Belizaire, M. , Somse, P. , Nambei, W. , Lango-Yaya, E. , Senzongo, O. , Hereidebona, L. , Kotemossoua, U. , Senekian, R. , Pounguinza, S. , Mossoro-Kpinde, C. , Faou, A. , Longo, J. , Mbopi-Keou, F. , Grésenguet, G. and Koffi, B. (2024) Mass Screening Using Antigenic and Molecular Diagnostic Tests of COVID-19 in Bangui at the Beginning of the Second Wave in July 2021. Journal of Tuberculosis Research, 12, 1-12. doi: 10.4236/jtr.2024.121001.