{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in people attending the two main Goma markets in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
{Author}: Mitangala PN;Irenge LM;Musubao ET;Kahindo JBM;Ayonga PN;Kyembwa Safari I;Kubuya JB;Ntabe EN;Kabangwa Senga RK;Mutombo GN;Ambroise J;Gala JL;
{Journal}: Epidemiol Infect
{Volume}: 151
{Issue}: 0
{Year}: 2023 09 19
{Factor}: 4.434
{DOI}: 10.1017/S0950268823001498
{Abstract}: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) officially reports low coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) prevalence. This cross-sectional study, conducted between September and November 2021, assessed the COVID-19 seroprevalence in people attending Goma's two largest markets, Kituku and Virunga. A similar study in a slum of Bukavu overlapped for 1 month using identical methods. COVID-19-unvaccinated participants (n = 796 including 454 vendors and 342 customers, 60% of whom were women) were surveyed. The median age of vendors and customers was 34.2 and 30.1 years, respectively. The crude and adjusted anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence rates were 70.2% (95% CI 66.9-73.4%) and 98.8% (95% CI 94.1-100%), respectively, with no difference between vendors and customers. COVID-19 symptoms reported by survey participants in the previous 6 months were mild or absent in 58.9% and 41.1% of participants with anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, respectively. No COVID-19-seropositive participants reported hospitalisation in the last 6 months. These findings are consistent with those reported in Bukavu. They confirm that SARS-CoV-2 spread without causing severe symptoms in densely populated settlements and markets and suggest that many COVID-19 cases went unreported. Based on these results, the relevance of an untargeted hypothetical vaccination programme in these communities should be questioned.