AUTHOR=Kadio Kadio Jean Jacques Olivier , Gnimadi Thibaut Armel Chérif , Guichet Emilande , Hounmenou Castro Gbêmemali , Soumah Abdoul Karim , Diallo Haby , Camara Amadou , Camara Saidouba Chérif , Sandouno Marie Rose , Bangoura Salifou Talassone , Diaby Maladho , Richard Vincent , Poublan Julien , Sidibé Sidikiba , Delamou Alexandre , Camara Alioune , Kéita Alpha Kabinet , Delaporte Eric , Touré Abdoulaye ,  Afroscreen Team 

TITLE=Assessing the long-term persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in Guinea: insights from post-epidemic sentinel syndromic surveillance data

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Epidemiology

VOLUME=Volume 5 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/epidemiology/articles/10.3389/fepid.2025.1636286

DOI=10.3389/fepid.2025.1636286

ISSN=2674-1199

ABSTRACT=BackgroundIn December 2019, the world experienced one of the significant health crises of the 21st century with the emergence and rapid spread of the potentially fatal 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19). In this context, sentinel surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants was conducted in Conakry. Here we report the first data on reproduction numbers and risk factors during the Omicron post-epidemic period in Guinea.MethodsA sentinel syndromic and genomic surveillance study was conducted on suspected patients from October 2022 to July 2024 at healthcare facilities in Conakry. Individual data and nasopharyngeal swabs were collected and sent to the Centre de Recherche et de Formation en Infectiologie de Guinée (CERFIG) laboratory for screening and sequencing by next-generation sequencing (NGS). The effective reproduction number (Rt) were estimated using EpiEstim to assess the transmission potential of the Omicron variant. Generalized linear models based on the binomial distribution were employed to analyze factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity, following the identification of primary risk factors using Bayesian model averaging and the Data balancing algorithm using propensity score matching.ResultsData from 1174 patients with suspected cases with a median age of 31 years (IQR: 20–51), were analyzed. The overall COVID-19 positivity rate was 11.8%. The global effective reproduction number (Rt) was 2.08 [95% CI: 0.35–5.81]. Only ageusia [AOR = 2.0; 95% CI (1.1–3.6)] was independently associated with SARS-CoV-2 test positivity.ConclusionSARS-CoV-2 is still circulating in Guinea, with a high positivity rate and a high number of effective reproductions in this post-epidemic period in our country. The associated factors and the circulation of variants with a diversity of circulating strains suggest the need to strengthen genomic and epidemiological surveillance, with the support of all those involved in the response to COVID-19, to ensure continuity of alerts and decision-making for public health.