In this survey, the estimated seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 is 3.2 percent among adult population in the study setting. The large proportion of population (close to 97 percent) not yet infected at the time of survey meant that promotion of COVID-19 recommended prevention and control measures would be vital to interrupt the continued community transmission [22].
The prevalence in our study was generally lower than expected which can be attributed to higher adherence rates among our study participants to COVID 19 preventive measures. When the study was undertaken, population level measures that include school closure, restrictions on social gatherings and physical distancing rules were in place in Ethiopia. However, the estimated SARS-CoV-2 antibody by IgG was higher compared to studies conducted in Wuhan [17] and meta-analysis of global pooled sero-prevalence [23]; but lower compared to other studies conducted at Addis Ababa [16], Brazil [18] and Iran [19]. The observed differences might be due to differences in the stages of the pandemic at the time of the surveys, with surveys conducted at the earlier stage of the pandemic more likely to report lower prevalence compared to those conducted at the later stage. Another main source of difference is the presence of and level of enforcement of population level government restrictions against COVID-19 to limit transmission.
Consistent with a study from Brazil [18], we could not detect significant difference in IgG prevalence by sex an age category. Although such lack of effect of age could be related to our particular choice of age category, the differences mean that the risk of getting infection might not vary by sex and age. The importance of those variables might be on the progression of and outcome of disease once infection has occurred.
None of the study participant reported symptoms compatible with COVID-19 and contact with a known COVID-19 case. So, the prevalence observed in this study might be caused predominantly by asymptomatic community transmission. This underlies the importance of promoting COVID-19 preventive measures such as wearing face mask and physical distancing to cut the asymptomatic transmission in the population. However, although it may be argued that lack of symptoms compatible COVID-19 is partly related to recall bias, the role of this bias may not be substantial in our study setting. The main reason is that this study was conducted in a city administration, where residents have exposure to information regarding the symptoms and preventive measures through mainstream media as well local means. Besides there were strong restrictions imposed at different stages of the pandemic. These all measures meant that symptoms are less likely to be forgotten. In addition, higher adherence rates (more than 80% for most measures) to COVID-19 measures in our study supports our assertion that the study population has good awareness of the disease.
In this study, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was significantly higher among individuals who were employed and commute from home to work and back again compared to those working from home or jobless and is consistent with other studies [8, 24, 25]. Employment often requires frequent movement and close social interactions and therefore can increase the risk of asymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
In our study, adherence to COVID-19 prevention recommendations has critical role in interrupting transmission. In particular, we observed 8.5 times higher prevalence among individuals who do not practice the recommended physical distancing measures. Our finding replicates findings from a meta-analysis [26]. However, such effects were not reported in [25, 28] probably related to the epidemic stage and different state of restrictions at the time these studies.
We also observed, 4.5 times higher prevalence among respondents not frequently using face mask while leaving homes compared to those who frequently use it. Consistent with other studies, this study found higher sero-prevalence among those who do not frequently use face masks [25]. In Ethiopia and in our study setting, wearing face mask has become mandatory from the early stages of the epidemic.
Similarly, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among study participants who did not avoid going to crowds involving more than four people was more than four times higher compared to those who avoided going to crowds involving more than four people. This finding is consistent with a previous study that indicated disproportionately higher prevalence in individuals involved in crowds [23]. However, we failed to detect significant differences in SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence by hand washing practice.
Our study has several limitations. The performance of the test depends on time since infection, with limited sensitivity for recent infections. At the earlier stage of the infection, individuals may not yet be able produce detectable antibodies. As, a result, it is likely that the estimated prevalence can be underestimated. Although, it was possible to adjust for such variations of test performance by time since infection, we could not adjust our estimates to the sensitivity as none of our study participants reported symptoms compatible with COVID-19.
Responses regarding COVID-19 recommended preventive measures were subjective self-reports. It is likely that individuals might not always maintain the recommended physical distance and proper mask wearing but can still positively report causing social desirability bias.