+1Cissé, A., +*1,2Lingani, M., 1Tao, M., 1Nana, S., 1Kaboré, B., 3Eric D. A. S., 4Nassouri, A., 1Diagbouga, S., 5Bamba, S., and 1Tarnagda, Z.
1National Influenza Reference Laboratory, Unité des Maladies à Potentiel Epidémique, Maladies Émergentes et
Zoonoses, Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Burkina Faso
2Unité de Recherche Clinique de Nanoro, Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Nanoro, Burkina Faso
3Teranga Gold Corporation, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
4Wahgnion Gold Operation, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
5Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Santé, Université Nazi BONI, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
*Correspondence to: lingani10@yahoo.fr; +joint first authors
Abstract:
Background: To control the spread of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is necessary to adequately identify and isolate infectious patients particularly at the work place. Real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay is the recommended confirmatory method for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of SARSCoV-2 infection in Burkina Faso and to use the initial cycle threshold (Ct) values of RT-PCR as a tool to monitor the dynamics of the viral load.
Methodology: Between September 2021 and February 2022, oropharyngeal and/or nasopharyngeal swab samples of consecutively selected COVID-19 symptomatic and apparently healthy workers from the Wahgnion mining site in the South-western Burkina Faso who consented to the study were collected according to the two weeks shift program and tested for SARS-CoV-2 using RT-PCR assay. Patients positive for the virus were followed-up weekly until tests were negative. Association of the initial RT-PCR Ct values with disease duration was assessed by adjusted linear regression approach. Two-sided p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Continue reading “Prevalence of COVID-19 at the Wahgnion-Gold mining site in Burkina Faso and use of RT-PCR initial cycle threshold to monitor the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 load”