GHANA

In an email exchange with Quashie to explain a collaborative research project on COVID-19, he said they were also able to identify groups of individuals with the same virus in order to identify which types of the virus are circulating in a country because the various types have differing levels of transmissibility and pathogenicity.

The research was conducted at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) of the University of Ghana.

Quashie, who had earlier presented the findings of the study during a webinar, said because of the quality of their work, they were able to actually track and link the different samples to each other and see which samples likely had similar ancestry.

We were able to identify unique substitutions or genetic changes, which were identified in Ghana and have either not been identified elsewhere or are known stochastic [stochastic refers to a pattern that may be analysed statistically, but may not be predicted precisely] mutations that occur in-country, Quashie said.

Transmission pathway followed

The study also showed about 20% of people living in Accra and in Kasoa, totalling about 2 million, may have been exposed to COVID-19. The study was conducted in public places including municipal markets and lorry stations in Accra and Kasoa, shopping malls in Accra, and COVID-19 testing centres and other research institutions or health centres in Accra.

The researchers used a pre-validated antibody rapid diagnostic test (RDT), and were able to determine exposure to SARS-CoV-2, by detecting COVID-19 antibodies in blood samples taken from 1,305 participants. They said these tests were only able to detect exposure to the virus with about 70% accuracy because antibodies wane after some time and might be hard to detect in some individuals.

Dr Yaw Bediako, a research fellow at WACCBIP, said these were somewhat cautionary results, adding that, we know these things can switch in an instant. So we have to be vigilant and we have to be aware that COVID-19 is, indeed, circulating freely in our country and [that] our current testing protocols, which are focused on symptomatic people, will only capture a very small fraction.

Analysing the genetic structure of various strains of the virus, the scientists also found evidence of transmission from the Greater Accra Region, through the Central Region, to the Western Region. The most transmissible variants, according to the data, were found in Ayawaso, a suburb of Accra, which was a hotbed for the disease when it first broke out in the country.

People in lower economic brackets worse off

They said the findings suggested that people in lower economic brackets are more exposed and have higher levels of previous SARS-CoV-2. Results of the extent of antibody presence in the community sampled in the study showed that the exposure rate was higher among people tested at the markets and lorry stations (about 27%) than those at the malls (around 9%). The study also showed that differences in socioeconomic status could determine risk of exposure to the virus.

Having a higher level of education and a high level of income also significantly reduce your risk of being exposed compared to those who have lower levels of education and those who earn low incomes. We also found that individuals working in the informal sector are at a two-fold increased risk of being exposed, said Quashie.

Kofi Bonney, a senior research fellow at NMIMR, said these results were to be expected, adding that, I even expected that a higher percentage would have been recorded, especially from the markets. We saw how they were loosely keeping to the protocols that we're supposed to be adhering to. People are now thinking that we are out of the woods, but we are not there yet. The virus is still circulating, and we need to be wary of that and adhere to the protocols strictly. Otherwise, what is happening in the Western world may surface here as well.

WACCBIP is one of the World Bank's African Centres of Excellence (ACE) and was established in 2014. The centre has a mandate to conduct applied research into biology and pathogenesis of tropical diseases, and increase research output and innovation by enhancing collaboration among biomedical scientists and industry or private sector leaders in the sub-region.

The NMIMR works with the faculty from the department of biochemistry, cell and molecular biology of the University of Ghana with the mandate to provide masters and PhD training, as well as targeted short courses in cell and molecular biology.

See more here:
In-country genetic changes of coronavirus mapped by scientists - University World News