Introduction
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by
SARS-CoV-2, was first reported in
China at the end of 2019. The highly contagious virus quickly reached
pandemic proportions, and by the end of 2020, over 90 million COVID-19
cases had been reported in 218 countries.1
Cameroon had its first registered SARS-CoV-2 positive test in early
March 2020.2,3 Cases started to rise rapidly
country-wide, and by March 17, 2020, Cameroon was under a strict public
health alert; wearing of masks became mandatory in all public areas and
education and awareness campaigns were implemented. Cameroon had the
highest absolute number of cases in the central Africa sub-region in
2020, with almost 30,000 reported cases and nearly 500
deaths4. However, the true number of SARS-CoV-2
infections in Cameroon is unknown because of both the likely large
number of people with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infections, as
well as the lack of widespread testing.5 Thus,
determining the extent of community spread and establishing baseline
seroprevalence data are needed to better understand population immunity
levels and the impact of public health interventions, such as
vaccinations, on future waves of transmission.
The purpose of this study was to estimate and describe the prevalence of
SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among individuals aged > 5
years in the 10 regional capitals of Cameroon. In addition, we aimed to
determine factors associated with seropositivity. Finally, we gauge
knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19. To the best of our knowledge,
this was the first national SARS-CoV-2 serosurvey in Cameroon.