ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Currently, sequencing has been the only tool for the identification of circulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (
SARS-CoV-2) variants. However, it is known to be an expensive and laborious approach involving high
technical expertise. Considering the reduced adherence to preventive
measures postlockdown in Accra, this study presents an alternative
method that leverages
polymerase chain reaction (
PCR) to identify circulating
SARS-CoV-2 variants in the Accra Metropolis postlockdown.
Methods:
This prospective
cross-sectional study was conducted between July and December 2022. Nasopharyngeal samples were collected from 268 consenting participants. Samples were subjected to
nucleic acid extraction and followed by
real-time polymerase chain reaction for the
detection and quantification of
SARS-CoV-2 RNA.
SARS-CoV-2 positive samples were subsequently subjected to variant identification using rapid
PCR. Findings. The
prevalence of
SARS-CoV-2 within the Accra Metropolis was 30.2%. The majority of the SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed in
females, participants
aged 41-50 years, and symptomatic participants. Participants
aged ≤10 years and
females recorded the highest
viral load while participants
aged 41-50 years recorded the highest number of
infections. The
SARS-CoV-2 variants detected were Alpha (64.2%),
Delta (22.2%), and Omicron (13.6%). Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 infection identified were
chills,
cough,
headache, body weakness,
sore throat, and dyspnoea in order of decreasing
association with SARS-CoV-2 infection. There was a strong
association between symptom status,
gender, age, and SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Conclusion:
There was a high
prevalence of
SARS-CoV-2 within the Accra Metropolis postlockdown within the sampling period. The Alpha variant of
SARS-CoV-2 is the predominant circulating variant, and
persons presenting with symptoms are most likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19.
Children aged ≤10 years serve as a
reservoir for
infection transmission.