Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among Blood Donors in the Republic of Congo

Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly transmissible and pathogenic viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which erupted in Wuhan, China, in 2019 and has spread worldwide [1]. The objective of this study was to assess the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among blood donors in the Republic of Congo. Method: This is an analytical and cross-sectional study that was carried out during the period from July to December 2021. Biological analyses were performed with the serological tests n2019 rapid IgG/IgM from Beijing Diagreat Biotechnologies and antigen tests from Abbot using the serum for the detection of anti-SARS-Cov-2 antibodies and nasal mucus for the detection of SARS-Cov-2 antigens. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 22. The Results: Out of 2553 donors recruited in our study, we observed a predominance of male sex with 86.1% or a ratio of 6.19, the age group of 18 - 30 years was dominant with 45.9%, family donation represented 59.2%, the dominant profession was workers with 46.9% and the dominant blood group was O Rh positive with 54%. The prevalence of anti-SRAS-CoV-2 antibodies and antigens were respectively 31.4% for anti-SRAS CoV-2 IgG antibodies, 36.7% for anti-SRAS CoV-2 IgM antibodies and 2.93% for SARS-CoV-2 antigen.