Abstract:
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and
became pandemic after emerging in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. We aimed to investigate the prevalence, clinical
characteristics, and risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infections in districts of southwest Ethiopia. A study was conducted
on COVID-19 surveillance data in the diagnostic center of the southwest district of Ethiopia from July 1, 2020, to
February 30, 2021. A total of 10 618 nasopharyngeal specimens were tested for SARS-COV-2 using the detection
of unique sequences of virus RNA by reverse transcriptase PCR. Data were entered into Epidata version 3.1 and
analyzed using SPSS version 25. Logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between COVID-19 and risk
factors, with a significance level of P = 0.05. A total of 10 618 individuals were tested for SARS-CoV-2. Of these, 419
(3.9%) patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Among a total of 419 patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2,
80.2% were asymptomatic, 264 (63.0%) were males, and 233 (55.6%) were aged 19 to 35 years. Comorbidity was
present in 37 (8.8%). The risk of getting SARS-CoV-2 infections was increased with male sex (AOR = 1.248; 95% CI:
1.007, 1.547), health workers (AOR = 3.187; 95% CI: 1.960, 5.182), prisoners (AOR = 2.118; 95% CI: 1.104, 4.062), and
comorbid conditions (AOR = 2.972; 95% CI: 1.649, 5.358), such as diabetes (AOR = 4.765; 95% CI: 1.977-11.485) and
other respiratory problems (AOR = 3.267; 95% CI: 1.146-9.317). Despite the fact that overall laboratories confirmed
prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the study area was low and dynamic, it was spread to all zones of the study area.
This highlights the importance of implementing the most effective public health strategies to prevent the further spread
and reduce the burden of SARS-CoV-2 infections.
