Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Khalid Hajissa; Md Asiful Islam; Siti Asma Hassan; Abdul Rahman Zaidah; Nabilah Ismail; Zeehaida Mohamed

doi:10.3390/ijerph19127257

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Khalid Hajissa, Md Asiful Islam^*, Siti Asma Hassan, Abdul Rahman Zaidah, Nabilah Ismail, Zeehaida Mohamed^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Metabolism and Systems Science

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Abstract

A reliable estimate of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies is increasingly important to track the spread of infection and define the true burden of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review and a meta-analysis were conducted with the objective of estimating the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Africa. A systematic search of the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar electronic databases was conducted. Thirty-five eligible studies were included. Using meta-analysis of proportions, the overall seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was calculated as 16% (95% CI 13.1–18.9%). Based on antibody isotypes, 14.6% (95% CI 12.2–17.1%) and 11.5% (95% CI 8.7–14.2%) were seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM, respectively, while 6.6% (95% CI 4.9–8.3%) were tested positive for both IgM and IgG. Healthcare workers (16.3%) had higher seroprevalence than the general population (11.7%), blood donors (7.5%) and pregnant women (5.7%). The finding of this systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) may not accurately reflect the true seroprevalence status of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Africa, hence, further seroprevalence studies across Africa are required to assess and monitor the growing COVID-19 burden.

Original language	English
Article number	7257
Number of pages	14
Journal	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume	19
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127257
Publication status	Published - 14 Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding: The APC was funded by the Research Creativity and Management (RCMO), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and the School of Medical Sciences, USM.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

Africa
antibodies
COVID-19
IgG
IgM
meta-analysis
SARS-CoV-2
seroprevalence

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Pollution
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.3390/ijerph19127257Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

HajissaK2022SeroprevalenceFinal published version, 1.36 MBLicence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

Cite this

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title = "Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis",

abstract = "A reliable estimate of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies is increasingly important to track the spread of infection and define the true burden of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review and a meta-analysis were conducted with the objective of estimating the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Africa. A systematic search of the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar electronic databases was conducted. Thirty-five eligible studies were included. Using meta-analysis of proportions, the overall seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was calculated as 16\% (95\% CI 13.1–18.9\%). Based on antibody isotypes, 14.6\% (95\% CI 12.2–17.1\%) and 11.5\% (95\% CI 8.7–14.2\%) were seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM, respectively, while 6.6\% (95\% CI 4.9–8.3\%) were tested positive for both IgM and IgG. Healthcare workers (16.3\%) had higher seroprevalence than the general population (11.7\%), blood donors (7.5\%) and pregnant women (5.7\%). The finding of this systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) may not accurately reflect the true seroprevalence status of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Africa, hence, further seroprevalence studies across Africa are required to assess and monitor the growing COVID-19 burden.",

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note = "Funding Information: Funding: The APC was funded by the Research Creativity and Management (RCMO), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and the School of Medical Sciences, USM. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",

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AU - Zaidah, Abdul Rahman

AU - Ismail, Nabilah

AU - Mohamed, Zeehaida

N1 - Funding Information: Funding: The APC was funded by the Research Creativity and Management (RCMO), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and the School of Medical Sciences, USM. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

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ER -

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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