Prevalence of post-pandemic SARS-CoV-2 in patients with respiratory syndrome in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was detected in the Republic of the Congo in March 2020. Several control measures were implemented during the pandemic period. As a result, the number of reported cases decreased significantly, leading to the gradual lifting of barrier measures and the declaration of the end of the outbreak on 14 October 2022. The present study aimed to determine the post-pandemic prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the referral hospitals of Talangaï (HRT) and Makélékélé (HRM) in Brazzaville between October 2022 and April 2023. Nasopharyngeal samples collected from patients with respiratory syndrome were analyzed via qRT‒PCR to detect SARS-CoV-2. An overall prevalence of 5% of SARS-CoV-2 infection was found, with monthly fluctuations in cases during the study period, likely reflecting the endemic nature of the infection. The monthly proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infection cases did not correlate with the number of patients with respiratory syndrome-related symptoms. Although the post-pandemic prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 has remained low, laboratory confirmation of COVID-19, which accounts for both clinical suspicion and detection of SARS-CoV-2, using at least one rapid diagnostic test (RDT) is needed to improve case-by-case management in health centers.