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Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is an important risk factor for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19), but data on the prevalence of COVID‐19 among people living with HIV (PLWH) is limited in low‐income countries. Our aim was to assess the seroprevalence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) specific antibodies and associated factors among PLWH in Sierra Leone. Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional survey of PLWH aged 18 years or older in Sierra Leone between August 2022 and January 2023. Participants were tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 antibodies using a rapid SARS‐CoV‐2 antibody (immunoglobulin M/immunoglobulin G [IgG]) kits. Stepwise logistic regression was used to explore factors associated with SARS‐CoV‐2 antibody seroprevalence with a significance level of p <.05. Results: In our study, 33.4% (1031/3085) participants had received a COVID‐19 vaccine, and 75.7% were SARS‐CoV‐2 IgG positive. Higher IgG seroprevalence was observed in females (77.2% vs. 71.4%, p =.001), adults over 60 years (88.2%), those with suppressed HIV RNA (80.7% vs. 51.7%, p <.001), antiretroviral therapy (ART)‐experienced individuals (77.9% vs. 44.6%, p <.001), and vaccinated participants (80.7% vs. 73.2%, p <.001). Patients 60 years or older had the highest odds of IgG seroprevalence (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.73, 95% CI = 1.68–4.65). Female sex (aOR = 1.28, 95%CI = 1.05–1.56), COVID‐19 vaccination (aOR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.27–1.86), and ART (aOR = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.56–3.11) increased the odds, whereas HIV RNA ≥ 1000 copies/mL (aOR = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.26–0.40) reduced the odds of IgG seroprevalence. Conclusions: We observed a high seroprevalence of SARS‐CoV‐2 antibody among PLWH in Sierra Leone. We recommend the introduction of targeted vaccination for PLWH with a high risk of severe COVID‐19, especially those with an unsuppressed HIV viral load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic resulted in an estimated 3,956 deaths and 10,168 survivors in Sierra Leone (1). The use of high quality specialty services by [...]

aimba Kargbo,3 Andrew Clarke,4,5 Sherry Bangura,6 Mariatu Kargbo,6 Hawa Mariama Sesay,7 Abdul H Kamara,6 Jamil Bangura,6 Alie F Kamara,6 Sophie Allieu,1 Hassan Rogers,1 Maurizio Mattei,8 Vittorio Colizzi,9 Carla Montesano,8 Edwin JJ Momoh1,31Department of Public Health, Microbiology and Immunology, Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology, Makeni, Sierra Leone; 2 34th Military Hospital, The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, Freetown, Sierra Leone; 3Department of Agriculture and Food Security; Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology, Makeni, Sierra Leone; 4Global Programs Division, Save the Children UK, London, UK; 5Department/Division of Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK; 6Sierra Leone Association of Ebola Survivors, Freetown, Sierra Leone; 7Department of Public Health, University of Makeni, Makeni, Sierra Leone; 8Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; 9Department of Sciences and Technology, Evangelical University of Cameroon, Bandjoun, Cameroon*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Raoul Emeric Guetiya Wadoum; Edwin JJ Momoh, Email [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] Background: The clinical management of persistent medical conditions affecting Ebola survivors, generally described as a post-Ebola syndrome, remains a public health concern. We aimed to analyze Ebola survivors' laboratory biomarkers as compared to their non-infected household relatives to identify biomarkers that could guide the identification of survivors at increased risk of developing severe at odds with the non-severe post-Ebola syndrome. Materials and Methods: Data were extracted from medical records of the Ebola survivors clinic, and we included only Ebola survivor's parameters recorded during the first baseline follow-up visit 2 weeks interval after their second negative PCR result. Moreover, household non-infected family contacts of survivors visiting the clinic during the same period were recruited as community control. Results: The mean age of survivors was 32.65 (IQR: 15.5, 38.25) years, and Ebola IgG immunoglobulin was detected in all, thus confirming their status. The statistical significance (all p < 0.05) observed in monocyte percentage (MONO%), cluster of differentiation 4 percentage (CD4%), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatinine (CREA), and creatinine kinase (C-kinase) proved to be clinically significant as compared to the household relatives' group. Interestingly, the linear regression analysis indicated that the duration at ETU was negatively associated with lymphocyte percentage with a 5% lymphocyte decrease per day spent at ETU. Finally, there was a significant (p < 0.05) association between hematological (Hb, PCV, MCV, MCH), biochemical (ALT, CREA, C-kinase, T-cholesterol, triglycerides) parameters and the risk of developing severe complications. Conclusion: We recommend clinicians closely monitor Hb, PCV, MCV, MCH, ALT, CREA, C-kinase, T-cholesterol, triglycerides and lymphocytes as clinically relevant laboratory biomarkers to identify survivors at higher risk of developing severe post-acute syndrome upon discharge from Ebola treatment unit including headache, abdominal pain, chest pain, ocular complication, arthralgia, hearing difficulty and erectile dysfunction which can impact health-related quality of life among Ebola survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) remains a serious global threat. The metabolic analysis had been successfully applied in the efforts to uncover the pathological mechanisms and biomarkers of disease severity. Here we performed a quasi‐targeted metabolomic analysis on 56 COVID‐19 patients from Sierra Leone in western Africa, revealing the metabolomic profiles and the association with disease severity, which was confirmed by the targeted metabolomic analysis of 19 pairs of COVID‐19 patients. A meta‐analysis was performed on published metabolic data of COVID‐19 to verify our findings. Of the 596 identified metabolites, 58 showed significant differences between severe and nonsevere groups. The pathway enrichment of these differential metabolites revealed glutamine and glutamate metabolism as the most significant metabolic pathway (Impact = 0.5; −log10P = 1.959). Further targeted metabolic analysis revealed six metabolites with significant intergroup differences, with glutamine/glutamate ratio significantly associated with severe disease, negatively correlated with 10 clinical parameters and positively correlated with SPO2 (rs= 0.442, p = 0.005). Mini meta‐analysis indicated elevated glutamate was related to increased risk of COVID‐19 infection (pooled odd ratio [OR] = 2.02; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17–3.50) and severe COVID‐19 (pooled OR = 2.28; 95% CI: 1.14–4.56). In contrast, elevated glutamine related to decreased risk of infection and severe COVID‐19, the pooled OR were 0.30 (95% CI: 0.20–0.44), and 0.44 (95% CI: 0.19–0.98), respectively. Glutamine and glutamate metabolism are associated with COVID‐19 severity in multiple populations, which might confer potential therapeutic target of COVID‐19, especially for severe patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]