Sociodemographic characteristics and risk factors related to SARS-CoV-2 infection in Luanda, Angola

• Published in: PloS one 2021-03, Vol.16 (3), p.e0249249-e0249249
• Main Authors: Sebastião, Cruz S, Neto, Zoraima, Martinez, Pedro, Jandondo, Domingos, Antonio, Janete, Galangue, Manuela, de Carvalho, Marcia, David, Kumbelembe, Miranda, Julio, Afonso, Pedro, Inglês, Luzia, Carrelero, Raisa Rivas, de Vasconcelos, Jocelyne Neto, Morais, Joana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Angola; Biology and life sciences; Chi-square test; Child; Child, Preschool; Confidence intervals; Coronaviridae; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnosis; COVID-19 - pathology; COVID-19 - virology; COVID-19 Testing; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data analysis; Demography; Disease transmission; Editing; Electronic mail; Female; Fluorescence; Health risks; Health surveillance; Humans; Infant; Infections; Laboratories; Mail; Male; Mathematical analysis; Medical research; Medicine and health sciences; Middle Aged; Molecular biology; Odds Ratio; Pandemics; People and Places; Polymerase chain reaction; Public health; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Respiratory diseases; Reviews; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; RNA-directed DNA polymerase; SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sociodemographics; Statistical analysis; Statistical tests; Viral diseases; Young Adult; Zinc
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249249

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics related to SARS-CoV-2 in Luanda, Angola. A total of 622 individuals were screened for SARS-CoV-2 from January to September 2020. Chi-square and logistic regression were used to identify the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and SARS-CoV-2. Of the 622 tested, 14.3% tested positive. The infection rate was the same for both genders (14.3%). Individuals ≥40 years old, from non-urbanized areas, and healthcare professionals had a higher frequency of infection. The risk of infection was very high in individuals ≥60 years old (AOR: 23.3, 95% CI: 4.83-112), in women (AOR: 1.24, 95% CI: 0.76-2.04), in Luanda (AOR: 7.40, 95% CI: 1.64-33.4), and healthcare professionals (AOR: 1.27, 95% CI: 0.60-2.71), whereas a low risk was observed in individuals from urbanized areas (AOR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.26-0.75). Our results suggest that Angolan authorities should implement a greater effort in non-urbanized areas and among healthcare professionals since when these individuals presented any indication for a COVID-19 test, such as fever/cough/myalgia, they were more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 than having some other cause for symptoms.