AI Article Synopsis

  • A study was conducted in Gabon to monitor the COVID-19 epidemic, focusing on the first 1161 suspected cases from March 2020.
  • Out of these cases, 83 were confirmed as positive for COVID-19, with 73% of those infected showing no symptoms.
  • The research found that viral loads were higher in nasopharyngeal samples compared to oropharyngeal samples, but no significant differences were observed in viral loads across different age groups or in relation to clinical symptoms.

Article Abstract

Background After the first cases of coronaviruses disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China in January 2020, the epidemic spread around the world. Few data are available from Central Africa. We conducted a study to monitor this emerging disease in Gabon, a Central Africa country. Methods In order to set up an epidemiological surveillance of COVID-19 in Gabon, we led molecular investigations on nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal samples from the 1161 first suspected cases of COVID-19. A Reverse Ttranscriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) was performed using primers and probes targeted the E gene and polymerase gene according to the kit Tib-Molbiol. Results We diagnosed the first case of COVID-19 on March, 12 2020. Among those suspected cases, 83 were confirmed cases. There was no significant difference in prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 between age groups (p = 0.14). Seventy-three percent were asymptomatic. The viral loads were significantly higher in the nasopharyngeal samples than in the oropharyngeal samples (p=0.03). There was no significant difference in viral loads between age groups (p=0.9895) and no correlation between clinical symptoms and viral loads (p=0.06042). Conclusion In conclusion, this study provides the first molecular data from Gabon concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. The data showed that most of the infected people were asymptomatic. The viral load was higher in the nasopharyngeal samples.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9672532PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.74378.2DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

viral loads
12
central africa
8
oropharyngeal samples
8
suspected cases
8
age groups
8
asymptomatic viral
8
higher nasopharyngeal
8
nasopharyngeal samples
8
covid-19
5
epidemiology cases
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!