| Title | Circulation of respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Gambia. | ||
| Author | Jarju, Sheikh; Senghore, Elina; Brotherton, Helen; Affleck, Lucy; Saidykhan, Alasana; Jallow, Samba; Krubally, Ebrima; Sinjanka, Edrisa; Ndene, Morris Ngor; Bajo, Fabakary; Sanyang, Musa M; Saidy, Binta; Bah, Alasana; Mohammed, Nuredin I; Forrest, Karen; Clarke, Ed; Dalessandro, Umberto; Sesay, Abdul K; Usuf, Effua; Cerami, Carla; Roca, Anna; Kampmann, Beate; de Silva, Thushan I | ||
| Journal | Gates Open Res | Publication Year/Month | 2022 |
| PMID | 36726685 | PMCID | PMC9883272 |
| Affiliation + expend | 1.Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Fajara, P.O.BOX 273, The Gambia. | ||
Background: In many countries, non-pharmaceutical interventions to limit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission resulted in significant reductions in other respiratory viruses. However, similar data from Africa are limited. We explored the extent to which viruses such as influenza and rhinovirus co-circulated with SARS-CoV-2 in The Gambia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Between April 2020 and March 2022, respiratory viruses were detected using RT-PCR in nasopharyngeal swabs from 1397 participants with influenza-like illness. An assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 and a viral multiplex RT-PCR assay was used as previously described to detect influenza A and B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) A and B, parainfluenza viruses 1-4, human metapneumovirus (HMPV), adenovirus, seasonal coronaviruses (229E, OC43, NL63) and human rhinovirus. Results: Overall virus positivity was 44.2%, with prevalence higher in children <5 years (80%) compared to children aged 5-17 years (53.1%), adults aged 18-50 (39.5%) and >50 years (39.9%), p<0.0001. After SARS-CoV-2 (18.3%), rhinoviruses (10.5%) and influenza viruses (5.5%) were the most prevalent. SARS-CoV-2 positivity was lower in children <5 (4.3%) and 5-17 years (12.7%) than in adults aged 18-50 (19.3%) and >50 years (24.3%), p<0.0001. In contrast, rhinoviruses were most prevalent in children <5 years (28.7%), followed by children aged 5-17 (15.8%), adults aged 18-50 (8.3%) and >50 years (6.3%), p<0.0001. Four SARS-CoV-2 waves occurred, with 36.1%-52.4% SARS-CoV-2 positivity during peak months. Influenza infections were observed in both 2020 and 2021 during the rainy season as expected (peak positivity 16.4%-23.5%). Peaks of rhinovirus were asynchronous to the months when SARS-CoV-2 and influenza peaked. Conclusion: Our data show that many respiratory viruses continued to circulate during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Gambia, including human rhinoviruses, despite the presence of NPIs during the early stages of the pandemic, and influenza peaks during expected months.