Author(s)

Alioune Frank Magassouba^1*, Jacob Camara², Amadaye Souleyman Mahamat Al-Khassim¹, Ousmane Traoré¹, Mamadou Alimou Touré¹, Abdourahamane Diallo¹, Mamadou Diallo¹, Yacoub Ahmat Salhadiine¹, Ayouba Conde¹, Ahmat Lamadine Al-Hafiz¹, N’Faly Magassouba², Daman Sano¹, Marcel Mbeko Ouendouno¹, Mamadou Saliou Sow³, Mohamed Cisse²

¹Kofi Annan University of Guinea, Conakry, Guinea.
²Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry, Conakry, Guinea.
³Donka Hospital, Conakry, Guinea.

Introduction: This study aimed to describe the clinical and microbiological characteristics of individuals confirmed to have coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the laboratory of virological hemorrhagic fever in Guinea. Method: This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted from March 19 to June 19, 2020, in the virological hemorrhagic fever laboratory in Guinea. Samples collected from individuals living in the Conakry region, which were positive for the reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test for COVID-19, were included in this study. Results: Among the confirmed cases (N = 743), the males (n = 440, 59%) were more than the females (n = 303, 41%). The mean age of the confirmed cases was 33.31 ± 16.08 years. Almost all the confirmed cases (n = 515, 69.3%) had contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19. At the time of collection, 78.7% (481) of the cases were asymptomatic, while 35.3% (262) were symptomatic. At the time of the sample collection, the main symptoms were fever (51.53%), cough (49.24%), physical asthenia (46.18%), sore throat (33.2%), headache (28.62%), anosmia (9.92%), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain (5.34%), and diarrhea (1.53%). Only 2% of the cases had comorbidities, including diabetes (n = 7) and hypertension (n = 5). The viral load of the asymptomatic and symptomatic patients was similar with the cycle threshold value, all of which varied from 10 - 19, 20 - 29, and 30 - 36, respectively. In the first test, 27 samples were declared undetermined; two days later, samples were re-taken and re-tested and 18 of them were positive for COVID-19. The average length of hospitalization was 14 days for patients admitted to the hospital. On the other hand, the non- hospitalized patients isolated themselves at home for 22 days. We found an association between age and the presence of symptomatology (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The main clinical manifestations of COVID19 patients in our study were fever, cough, generalized myalgia, asthenia, headache, diarrhea, and dyspnea. The risk of being symptomatic increases with age. However, younger patients are at a lower risk of experiencing severe symptoms of COVID-19.

COVID-19, Coronavirus Disease, Viral Load, RT-PCR, Conakry

Magassouba, A. , Camara, J. , Al-Khassim, A. , Traoré, O. , Touré, M. , Diallo, A. , Diallo, M. , Salhadiine, Y. , Conde, A. , Al-Hafiz, A. , Magassouba, N. , Sano, D. , Ouendouno, M. , Sow, M. and Cisse, M. (2022) Bioclinical Study of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in the Laboratory of Virological Hemorrhagic Fever in Guinea. Open Journal of Medical Microbiology, 12, 168-183. doi: 10.4236/ojmm.2022.124015.