Abstract

Bessimbaye Nadlaou*, Saleh Abdelsalam, Djimadoum Mbanga, Khadidja Gamougame, Frank Edgard Zongo Ragomzingba, Narbé Djimadengar Maxime, Mahamat Abdelaziz, Abdelsalam Tidjani and Choua Ouchemi

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the PCR-RT test in the screening of travelers and the epidemiological surveillance of Covid-19 at the site of the National Reference University Hospital (CHURN) in Chad. We carried out a prospective study in the virology laboratory of CHURN in N'Djamena over a period of 15 months extending from August 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021. During this period, we included 69,268 virological examinations of nasopharyngeal swabs including 871 positive cases for Covid-19. The overall prevalence of Covid-19 was 1.25%. Significant differences were observed between the proportions of study participants men (59%) and women (41%), between 67% of travelers and 33.3% other cases among patients. At the end of this study, we can say that Covid-19 remains very common among travelers. In this regard, the preliminary findings of this study can be used as a basis for developing strategies and preventive measures emphasizing regular screening followed by adequate treatment, coupled with sanitation, environmental hygiene and compliance with the barrier measures enacted. The results of this control operation are satisfactory. No false positives were noted, which allowed a comparison of results from other laboratories and between reagents used. We recommend that this powerful technique be made available at screening sites in order to carry out effective surveillance for Covid-19 in Chad.