SARS-CoV-2 cross-sectional serosurvey across three HIV-1 therapeutic clinical trials in Africa

Emmanuelle Papot; Tamara Tovar-Sanchez; Joana Woods; Guillaume Thaurignac; Nnakelu Eriobu; Margaret Borok; Richard Kaplan; Anchalee Avihingsanon; Iskandar Azwa; Beatriz Grinsztejng; Nagalingeswaran Kumarasamy; Simiso Sokhela; Mireille Mpoudi-Etame; Maria Arriaga; Simone Jacoby; Gail V Matthews; Marcelo H Losso; Saye Khoo; Alexandra Calmy; Charles Kouanfack; Ahidjo Ayouba; Kathy Petoumenos; W D Francois Venter; Eric Delaporte; Mark N Polizzotto; COHIVE study group (COHIVE consortium includes ADVANCE, DolPHIN2, D2EFT and NAMSAL study groups)

doi:10.1097/QAD.0000000000004068

SARS-CoV-2 cross-sectional serosurvey across three HIV-1 therapeutic clinical trials in Africa

AIDS. 2024 Nov 22. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000004068. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Emmanuelle Papot¹, Tamara Tovar-Sanchez², Joana Woods³, Guillaume Thaurignac², Nnakelu Eriobu⁴, Margaret Borok⁵, Richard Kaplan⁶, Anchalee Avihingsanon⁷, Iskandar Azwa⁸, Beatriz Grinsztejng⁹, Nagalingeswaran Kumarasamy¹⁰, Simiso Sokhela³, Mireille Mpoudi-Etame¹¹, Maria Arriaga¹, Simone Jacoby¹, Gail V Matthews¹, Marcelo H Losso¹², Saye Khoo¹³, Alexandra Calmy¹⁴, Charles Kouanfack¹⁵, Ahidjo Ayouba², Kathy Petoumenos¹⁶, W D Francois Venter³, Eric Delaporte², Mark N Polizzotto^{1

17}; COHIVE study group (COHIVE consortium includes ADVANCE, DolPHIN2, D2EFT and NAMSAL study groups)

Affiliations

¹ Therapeutic and Vaccine Research Program, The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia.
² TransVIHMI, University of Montpellier-IRD-INSERM, Montpellier, France.
³ Ezintsha, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁴ Institute of Human Virology Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria.
⁵ University of Zimbabwe Clinical Research Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe.
⁶ Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁷ The HIV Netherlands Australia Thailand Research Collaboration, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok, Thailand.
⁸ Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁹ Instituto de Pesquisa Clinica Evandro Chagas-Fiocruz, Brazil.
¹⁰ Chennai Antiviral Research and Treatment Clinical Research Site, Infectious Diseases Medical Centre, Voluntary Health Services, Chennai-600113, India.
¹¹ Military Hospital Region N°1, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
¹² Coordinación en Investigación Clínica Académica en Latinoamérica Fundación IBIS Buenos Aires, Argentina.
¹³ Department of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
¹⁴ HIV/AIDS Unit Director, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁵ Central Hospital of Yaoundé, Yaoundé - 99322, Cameroon.
¹⁶ Biostatistics and Databases Program, The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹⁷ Clinical Hub for Interventional Research (CHOIR), College of Health and Medicine, The Australian National University.

PMID: 39576151
DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000004068

Abstract

Objective: Data on the impact of COVID-19 in people living with HIV (PWH) are lacking in resource-constrained settings. We utilised existingrandomised clinical trials (RCTs) on antiretroviral therapies (ART) in HIV-1 infection to conduct a SARS-CoV-2 serosurvey, between January and March 2021, while characterising participants' features.

Design: Cross-sectional serosurvey.

Methods: Demographic characteristics, medical history and a serum sample were collected from consenting PWH. Samples were analysed centrally for immunoglobulin G antibodies to recombinant nucleocapsid and spike proteins derived from SARS-CoV-2 using a Luminex based assay.

Results: The 549participants recruited in 9 sites across Africa had a median age of 40 years (IQR [34-45]); 63.0% (346) were female. All were on ART; 81.8% (449) had an HIV-1 viral load <50 copies/mL, with CD4 count median at 478/mm 3 (IQR [320-677]). None had received vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. Forty participants (7.3%) had a prior SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing, of whom 10 were positive (1.8%). Crude SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was 36.2% (; 95%CI [32.2-40.4]). In the explorative multivariable analysis, comparison of the characteristics of PWH with a positive SARS-CoV-2 serology with those with a negative or indeterminate serology: PWH with a body mass index (BMI)≥30 kg/m 2 were more likely to have a positive serology than those with a BMI≤25 (aOR = 2.39 [1.48-3.86], p < 0.001); and PWH living in Cameroon were less likely to have a positive serology.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates a substantial seroprevalence level of SARS-CoV-2 in PWH in the first quarter of 2021, with a marked disparity with the number of COVID-19 PCR tests reported positive.