Journal Article Epublish 2 citations
PubMed: 38427691 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290913
Seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of pregnant women and their infants in Uganda and Malawi.
PLoS One 19(3):e0290913
Authors: Lauren Hookham, Liberty Cantrell, Stephen Cose, Bridget Freyne, Luis Gadama, Esther Imede, Kondwani Kawaza, Samantha Lissauer, Phillipa Musoke, Victoria Nankabirwa, Musa Sekikubo, Halvor Sommerfelt, Merryn Voysey, Kirsty Le Doare
Affiliations
- Institute for Infection and Immunity, St George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
- Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
- MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.
- Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust, Blantyre, Malawi.
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
- School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi.
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
- Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
- Centre for Intervention Science in Maternal and Child Health, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Bergen, Norway.
- Makerere University, John's Hopkins University, Kampala, Uganda.
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Data on SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and infancy has accumulated throughout the course of the pandemic, though evidence regarding asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and adverse birth outcomes are scarce. Limited information is available from countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The pregnant woman and infant COVID in Africa study (PeriCOVID Africa) is a South-South-North partnership involving hospitals and health centres in five countries: Malawi, Uganda, Mozambique, The Gambia, and Kenya. The study leveraged data from three ongoing prospective cohort studies: Preparing for Group B Streptococcal Vaccines (GBS PREPARE), SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 in women and their infants in Kampala and Mukono (COMAC) and Pregnancy Care Integrating Translational Science Everywhere (PRECISE). In this paper we describe the seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women enrolled in sites in Uganda and Malawi, and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnancy and infant outcomes.
OUTCOME
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in maternal blood, reported as the proportion of seropositive women by study site and wave of COVID-19 within each country.
METHODS
The PeriCOVID study was a prospective mother-infant cohort study that recruited pregnant women at any gestation antenatally or on the day of delivery. Maternal and cord blood samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using Wantai and Euroimmune ELISA. In periCOVID Uganda and Malawi nose and throat swabs for SARS-Cov-2 RT-PCR were obtained.
RESULTS
In total, 1379 women were enrolled, giving birth to 1387 infants. Overall, 63% of pregnant women had a SARS-CoV-2 positive serology. Over subsequent waves (delta and omicron), in the absence of vaccination, seropositivity rose from 20% to over 80%. The placental transfer GMR was 1.7, indicating active placental transfer of anti-spike IgG. There was no association between SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity and adverse pregnancy or infancy outcomes.
MeSH
Pregnant Women, Pregnancy, Sars-Cov-2, Blood, Parturition, Vaccines, Antibodies, Cohort Studies, Covid-19, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Related Coronavirus, Infections, Infant