Answer:
COVID-19 is a new disease that has affected the lives of all South Africans. There is still a lot to learn about COVID-19 and how it has affected communities. Our primary aim is to:
Determine the extent of COVID-19 virus infection in the general population and age-specific infection prevalence, as determined by seropositivity (testing positive for COVID on an COVID-19 antibody test)
Determine the amount/percentage of asymptomatic or subclinical COVID-19 infections;
To determine the incidence rate of COVID-19 infections as determined by change from negative to positive serostatus in an embedded cohort of respondents in metropolitan municipalities (viz., Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay).
This information is important to guide in planning and decision-making for preventing future waves of the pandemic in South Africa, as well as to help ensure that health facilities are available to those who need it.
Our secondary aims are to:
Determine risk factors for COVID-19 virus infection
Estimate the prevalence of Covid-19 antibodies in age and sex sub-groups
Assess antibody levels quantitatively and neutralising antibody concentrations for future comparisons with correlates of protection for herd immunity estimations
& to assess cytotoxic T-cell responses in a sub-group of respondents who have and do not have antibody responses, in order to identify what proportion of individuals may have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 but do not have detectable antibodies.
Where Are We Visiting?
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This study will have two Cross-Sectional Surveys that will be conducted 8 weeks apart
First Survey:
We will be visiting 6,540 households in 436 communities nationally
Second survey
We will be visiting 6,540 households in 436 communities nationally
In the cities the same participants will be visited again
In other communities new houses in the same areas will be visited
In total 19,620 individuals will be asked to participate in each wave of the surveys
Why Is This Study Important
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Since the beginning of 2020, the majority of countries in the world have been facing the global public health pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
To date, very little is known internationally and nationally about the magnitude and determinants of this epidemic; as prevalence is estimated from confirmed cases based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for patients who have mild to serious symptoms.
The proportion of asymptomatic cases in the general population is unknown and this study will shed crucial light on this important issue.
