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Assessing the Benefit of Two Detection Approaches in Screening COVID-19 Using SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Tests among Intercity Public Bus Travelers
Jerome Ateudjieu
Jerome Ateudjieu
Department of Health Research, Meilleur Accès aux Soins de Santé, Yaoundé, Cameroon;
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon;
Division of Health Operations Research, Cameroon Ministry of Public Health, Yaounde, Cameroon;
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Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon;
Division of Health Operations Research, Cameroon Ministry of Public Health, Yaounde, Cameroon;
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Ketina Hirma Tchio-Nighie
Ketina Hirma Tchio-Nighie
Department of Health Research, Meilleur Accès aux Soins de Santé, Yaoundé, Cameroon;
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon;
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Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon;
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Anne Hoppe
Anne Hoppe
FIND, Geneva, Switzerland;
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland;
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Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland;
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Etienne Guenou
Etienne Guenou
Department of Health Research, Meilleur Accès aux Soins de Santé, Yaoundé, Cameroon;
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland;
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Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland;
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Imelda Sonia Nzinnou Mbiaketcha
Imelda Sonia Nzinnou Mbiaketcha
Department of Health Research, Meilleur Accès aux Soins de Santé, Yaoundé, Cameroon;
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Landry Beyala Bita’a
Landry Beyala Bita’a
Department of Health Research, Meilleur Accès aux Soins de Santé, Yaoundé, Cameroon;
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Claudine Sen Henriette Ngomtcho
Claudine Sen Henriette Ngomtcho
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon;
National Laboratory of Public Health, Yaounde, Cameroon
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National Laboratory of Public Health, Yaounde, Cameroon
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Anne Cecile Bissek
Anne Cecile Bissek
Division of Health Operations Research, Cameroon Ministry of Public Health, Yaounde, Cameroon;
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The movement of people contributes to the spread of COVID-19 between communities. Hence, we evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of offering intercity bus travelers testing prior to their departure. We conducted baseline and endline surveys to map COVID-19 prevention practices in travel agencies in western Cameroon. As interventions, buses were randomly assigned to three study arms: 1) offering systematic COVID-19 rapid diagnostic testing (RDT) to all passengers (arm A); 2) offering testing to suspected cases (arm B); or 3) no testing (arm C). All travelers were called 7–10 days after their trip to identify potential cases. Fifty-five (90.2%) of the 61 travel agencies that were reached consented to participate in a baseline survey. Although only 27 (49.1%) of the agencies implemented at least one of the recommended COVID-19 preventive measures, 39 (70.9%) agreed to host a testing station. Six agencies were selected, and 669 buses were enrolled, including 223, 224, and 222 in arms A, B, and C, respectively. A total of 31,484 departing passengers were approached and 9,594 (30.5%) agreed to participate: 1,177 (12.3%) in arm A, 4,086 (42.6%) in arm B, and 4,331 (45.1%) in arm C. In all, 1,731 tests were performed, including 1,177 in arm A and 554 in arm B. Fourteen (0.8%) tests were positive, and two participants (14.3%) agreed to postpone their travel. Offering testing with antigen RDTs in travel agencies is feasible and acceptable. One-third of passengers consented, and testing did not delay any travels. Although this approach can detect COVID-19 cases, actions are needed to increase the proportion of positive cases postponing their travels.
Author Notes
Financial support: This project was supported through a grant that FIND received from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Disclosure: The protocol was approved by the West Cameroon Regional Ethics Committee (N°2022/05/001/CE/CRERSH-O/SP) and benefited from the administrative research authorization delivered by the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health (N°B31-20.27).
Current contact information: Jerome Ateudjieu, Department of Health Research, Meilleur Accès aux Soins de Santé, Yaounde, Cameroon, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon, and Division of Health Operations Research, Cameroon Ministry of Public Health, Yaounde, Cameroon, E-mail: jateudjieu@masante-cam.org. Ketina Hirma Tchio-Nighie, Department of Health Research, Meilleur Accès aux Soins de Santé, Yaounde, Cameroon, and Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon, E-mail: ktchio@masante-cam.org. Anne Hoppe, FIND, Geneva, Switzerland, and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland, E-mail: ahoppe@pedaids.org. Etienne Guenou, Department of Health Research, Meilleur Accès aux Soins de Santé, Yaounde, Cameroon, E-mail: etienneg83@yahoo.fr. Imelda Sonia Nzinnou Mbiaketcha and Landry Beyala Bita’a, Department of Health Research, Meilleur Accès aux Soins de Santé, Yaounde, Cameroon, E-mails: soniambiaketcha1@gmail.com and landrybeyala06@gmail.com. Claudine Sen Henriette Ngomtcho, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon, and National Laboratory of Public Health, Yaounde, Cameroon, E-mail: ngomtchosen@gmail.com. Anne Cecile Bissek, Division of Health Operations Research, Cameroon Ministry of Public Health, Yaounde, Cameroon, E-mail: annezkbissek@yahoo.fr.
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