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Volume 28, Supplement—December 2022
SUPPLEMENT ISSUE
Surveillance

SARS-CoV-2 Prevalence in Malawi Based on Data from Survey of Communities and Health Workers in 5 High-Burden Districts, October 2020

Joe Alex Theu1, Alinune Nathanael Kabaghe1Comments to Author , George Bello, Evelyn Chitsa-Banda, Matthews Kagoli, Andrew Auld, Jonathan Mkungudza, Gabrielle O’Malley, Fred Fredrick Bangara, Elizabeth F. Peacocke, Yusuf Babaye, Wingston Ng’ambi, Christel Saussier, Ellen MacLachlan, Gertrude Chapotera, Mphatso Dennis Phiri, Evelyn Kim, Mabvuto Chiwaula, Danielle Payne, Nellie Wadonda-Kabondo2, Annie Chauma-Mwale2, Titus Henry Divala2, and Public Health Institute of Malawi COVID-19 surveillance committee3
Author affiliations: University of Washington Malawi International Training and Education Center for Health, Lilongwe, Malawi (J.A. Theu, G. Bello, J. Mkungudza, F.F. Bangara, Y. Babaye, C. Saussier); US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Malawi, Lilongwe (A.N. Kabaghe, A. Auld, E. Kim, D. Payne, N. Wadonda-Kabondo); Public Health Institute of Malawi, Lilongwe (E. Chitsa-Banda, M. Kagoli, M. Chiwaula, A. Chauma-Mwale); University of Washington International Training and Education Center for Health, Seattle, Washington, USA (G. O’Malley, E. MacLachlan); Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Lilongwe (E.F. Peacocke); Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi (G. Chapotera, M.D. Phiri, T.H. Divala)

Main Article

Table 1

Characteristics of participants in survey of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in Malawi, October 2020*

Characteristic Community participants, n = 4,261
 Health facility staff, N = 970
 Total, 
N = 5,231
No. (%) Weighted proportion (95% CI) No. (%) Weighted proportion (95% CI)
Sex
M 1,524 (35.8) 36.6 (32.8–40.6) 428 (44.1) 47.5 (39–56) 1,952
F
 2,737 (64.2)
 63.4 (59.4–67.2)
542 (55.9)
 52.5 (44–61)
 3,279
Age, y
10–19 982 (23.0) 20.1 (18.0–22.4) 8 (0.8) 0.4 (0.1–1.5) 990
20–29 1,085 (25.5) 23.8 (21.9–25.8) 291 (30.0) 20.0 (14.8–26.3) 1,376
30–39 887 (20.8) 21.7 (19.4–24.3) 335 (34.5) 38.7 (33.1–44.6) 1,222
40–49 626 (14.7) 16.8 (15.1–18.7) 236 (24.3) 25.9 (22.6–29.5) 862
≥50
 681 (16)
 17.5 (15.5–19.8)
100 (10.3)
 15.0 (9.6–22.6)
 781
District
Blantyre 535 (12.6) 16.0 (13.0–19.6) 163 (16.8) 15.1 (7.9–27.0) 698
Karonga 1,092 (25.6) 8.5 (7.2–10.1) 132 (13.6) 19.9 (11.5–32.1) 1,224
Lilongwe 560 (13.1) 37.8 (29.9–46.5) 216 (22.3) 23.6 (17.8–30.5) 776
Mangochi 937 (22.0) 23.9 (19.8–28.6) 191 (19.7) 9.5 (7.2–12.4) 1,128
Mzimba North
 1,137 (26.7)
 13.7 (11.4–16.4)
268 (27.6)
 31.9 (22.6–42.9)
 1,405
Location type
Rural 1,505 (35.3) 50.5 (38.3–62.5) 406 (41.9) 35.2 (32.1–38.2) 1,911
Urban
 2,756 (64.7)
 49.5 (37.5–61.6)
564 (58.1)
 64.7 (61.6–67.7)
 3,320
Household size, categorical
1–2 500 (11.7) 15.1 (11.5–19.6) 241 (24.8) 23.5 (17.7–30.5) 741
3–4 1,888 (44.3) 44.1 (41.1–47.1) 331 (34.1) 34.5 (29.4–40.1) 2,219
≥5
 1,872 (43.9)
 40.8 (36.9–44.8)
398 (41.0)
 42.0 (36.0–48.1)
 2,270
Education†
No education 339 (8.0) 12.8 (8.8–18.2) 0 0 339
Primary 2,138 (50.5) 53.3 (48.0–58.5) 51 (5.3) 4.6 (2.5–8.4) 2,189
Secondary 15,250 (35.9) 29.0 (25.0–33.4) 485 (50.0) 58.9 (51.5–66.0) 2,005
Tertiary/postsecondary
 237 (5.6)
 4.9 (3.7–6.5)
434 (44.7)
 36.5 (29.3–44.3)
 671
Occupation
Student 950 (22.3) 18.5 (16.4–20.8) NA NA 950
Unemployed 1,704 (40.0) 46.0 (40.8–51.2) NA NA 1,704
Employed, HFS 30 (0.7) 0.98 (0.7–1.4) 970 970 65
Employed, non-HFS 275 (6.5) 0.54 (0.3–0.9) NA NA 30
Retired 65 (1.5) 7.0 (5.4–9.1) NA NA 275
Other
 1,237 (29.0)
 27.0 (22.6–31.9)
NA
 NA
 1,237
Preexisting medical conditions
Any medical condition 472 (11.1) 11.2 (9.6–13.0) 175 (18.0) 23.9 (19.6–28.9) 647
Diabetes mellitus 38 (0.9) 0.7 (0.4–1.1) 11 (1.1) 0.7 (0.3–1.6) 49
CVD, including hypertension 224 (5.3) 5.5 (4.3–6.9) 68 (7.0) 10.5 (6.3–16.9) 292
Renal disease 2 (0) 0.04 (0.01–0.21) 4 (0.4 1.0 (0.3–3.2) 6
Immunosuppressive condition‡ 78 (1.9) 1.8 (1.3–2.5) 39 (4.0%) 5.7 (2.6–11.8) 117
Obesity 12 (0.3) 0.2 (0.1–0.4) 10 (1.0) 0.6 (0.2–1.4) 22
Asthma 104 (2.5) 2.4 (1.8–3.2) 47 (4.8) 6.9 (4.4–10.4) 151
Chronic lung disease, including COPD 8 (0.2) 0.08 (0.04–0.2) 2 (0.2) 0.1 (0.03–0.5) 10
Liver disease 3 (0.1) 0.05 (0.01–0.20) 2 (0.2) 1.0 (0.15–6.0) 5
Other disease 65 (1.6) 2.1 (1.5–2.9) 11 (1.1) 1.4 (0.46–4.2) 76

*COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CVD, cardiovascular disease; HFS, health facility staff; NA, not applicable. †The highest level of education attained. Primary education = 8 y; secondary education = 4 y; tertiary/postsecondary = college/university education. ‡From cancer, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunosuppressive medications, self-reported HIV, organ transplant, or inherited immunodeficiency.

Main Article

1These first authors contributed equally to this article.

2These senior authors contributed equally to this article.

3Members are listed at the end of this article.

Page created: July 01, 2022
Page updated: December 11, 2022
Page reviewed: December 11, 2022
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