Background Evidence from resource-rich settings indicates that many people continue to have persistent symptoms following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, called post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Only a few studies have described PASC in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We aimed to describe PASC in Liberia. Methods We randomly sampled all people who were reported from the most populous county to the Liberian Ministry of Health (MOH) as having a laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from June to August 2021. We interviewed individuals by phone 3 to 6 months later. Those with persistence of at least one symptom were considered to have PASC. Results From among 2848 people reported to the MOH from Montserrado County during the period of interest, we randomly selected 650; of these, 548 (84.3%) were reached and 505 (92.2%) of those who were contacted were interviewed. The median age was 38 years (interquartile range (IQR), 30–49), and 43.6% were female. During acute infection, 40.2% were asymptomatic, 53.9% had mild/moderate disease and 6.9% had severe/critical disease. Among the 59.8% (n = 302) who were initially symptomatic, 50.2% (n = 152) reported at least one persistent symptom; the most common persistent symptoms were fatigue (21.2%), headache (16.2%) and cough (12.6%); 40.1% reported that PASC significantly affected their daily activities. Being hospitalized with moderate disease [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR), 2.00 (95% CI, 1.59 to 2.80] or severe/critical disease [aPR, 2.11 (95% CI, 1.59 to 2.80)] was associated with PASC, compared with those not hospitalized. Females were more likely than males to report persistent fatigue [aPR, 1.67 (95% CI, 1.08 to 2.57)]. Conclusions Our findings suggest that persistent symptoms may have affected a large proportion of people with initially symptomatic COVID-19 in west Africa and highlight the need to create awareness among infected people and health care professionals.

中文翻译：

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利比里亚 COVID-19 急性后遗症的患病率和决定因素

背景 来自资源丰富环境的证据表明，许多人在急性 SARS-CoV-2 感染后继续出现持续症状，称为 COVID-19 急性后遗症 (PASC)。只有少数研究描述了撒哈拉以南非洲 (SSA) 的 PASC。我们的目的是描述利比里亚的 PASC。方法 我们对 2021 年 6 月至 8 月期间从人口最多的县向利比里亚卫生部 (MOH) 报告的实验室确诊 SARS-CoV-2 感染的所有人员进行了随机抽样。我们通过电话采访了个人 3 至 6 个月之后。那些持续存在至少一种症状的人被认为患有 PASC。结果从感兴趣期间向蒙特塞拉多县卫生部报告的 2848 人中，我们随机选择了 650 人；其中，有 548 人（84.3%）得到了联系，其中 505 人（92.2%）接受了采访。中位年龄为 38 岁（四分位距 (IQR)，30-49），43.6% 为女性。急性感染期间，40.2%无症状，53.9%为轻/中度疾病，6.9%为重/危重症。在 59.8% (n = 302) 最初出现症状的人中，50.2% (n = 152) 报告至少一种持续症状；最常见的持续症状是疲劳（21.2%）、头痛（16.2%）和咳嗽（12.6%）；40.1% 的人表示 PASC 严重影响了他们的日常活动。与那些患有中度疾病[调整患病率（aPR）2.00（95% CI，1.59至2.80）或严重/危重疾病[aPR，2.11（95% CI，1.59至2.80）]住院的患者相比，PASC与PASC相关。未住院。女性比男性更有可能报告持续性疲劳 [aPR，1.67（95% CI，1.08 至 2.57）]。结论我们的研究结果表明，持续症状可能影响了大部分最初出现症状的 COVID-19 患者西非，并强调需要提高感染者和卫生保健专业人员的认识。