Prevalence of COVID-19 Infection among outpatients attending a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Three years after its declaration as a pandemic, countries and regions are still gathering data on the epidemiology of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV-2) infection. Following the relaxation of many restrictions earlier imposed to curb spread and the observation of some sort of seasonal surge in infection rates, it is still not clear whether the disease should remain a pandemic.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at a Nigerian tertiary hospital. Ninety-two adult male and female patients presenting with common symptoms associated with COVID-19 disease were enrolled at the Outpatient Department of the facility. Ethical approval was duly sought and obtained from The Ethics and Health Research Committee of the hospital. Informed consent was obtained from each study participant. The COVID-19 testing was determined using Panbio COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device from Abbott (United States). Results are presented as numbers and frequencies.

Results: Among outpatients presenting with symptoms such as fever and midnight sweats, body aches and pain, difficulty in breathing as well as cough and catarrh, the prevalence of COVID-19 was observed to be 15.2%. On the knowledge of the respondents regarding COVID-19, majority (80.6%) had a prior knowledge while 19.4% lacked knowledge of COVID-19.

Conclusion: This study observed 15.2% prevalence for COVID-19 infection among outpatients in a Nigerian tertiary hospital. There still exists persons (19.4%) who lack knowledge of the disease.