Epidemiological profile of SARS-CoV-2 among selected regions in Ghana: A cross-sectional retrospective study
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Date
2020
Authors
Owusu Michael
Sylverken Angelina Augustina
Owusu-Dabo Ellis
Gorman Richmond
El-Duah Philip....et al
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
PLOS ONE
Abstract
Background
Global cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, causing havoc to several economies. So far,
Ghana has recorded 48,643 confirmed cases with 320 associated deaths. Although
sum maries of data are usually provided by the Ministry of Health, detailed epidemiological
profile of cases are limited. This study sought to describe the socio-demographic features,
pattern of COVID-19 spread and the viral load dynamics among subjects residing in northern,
mid dle and part of the southern belt of Ghana.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional retrospective study that reviewed records of samples collected
from February to July, 2020. Respiratory specimens such as sputum, deep-cough saliva
and nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from suspected COVID-19 subjects in 12
regions of Ghana for laboratory analysis and confirmation by real-time reverse transcription
polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Results
A total of 72,434 samples were collected during the review period, with majority of the
sam pled individuals being females (37,464; 51.9%). The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 identified
Description
This article is published by Plos One and is also available at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243711
Keywords
Citation
Owusu M, Sylverken AA, Ankrah ST, El Duah P, Ayisi-Boateng NK, Yeboah R, et al. (2020) Epidemiological profile of SARS-CoV-2 among selected regions in Ghana: A cross-sectional retrospective study