High Asymptomatic Carriage With the Omicron Variant in South Africa

Nigel Garrett; Asa Tapley; Jessica Andriesen; Ishen Seocharan; Leigh H Fisher; Lisa Bunts; Nicole Espy; Carole L Wallis; April Kaur Randhawa; Maurine D Miner; Nzeera Ketter; Margaret Yacovone; Ameena Goga; Yunda Huang; John Hural; Philip Kotze; Linda Gail Bekker; Glenda E Gray; Lawrence Corey; Ubuntu Study Team

doi:10.1093/cid/ciac237

High Asymptomatic Carriage With the Omicron Variant in South Africa

Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Aug 24;75(1):e289-e292. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac237.

Authors

Nigel Garrett¹, Asa Tapley^{2

3}, Jessica Andriesen², Ishen Seocharan⁴, Leigh H Fisher², Lisa Bunts², Nicole Espy², Carole L Wallis⁵, April Kaur Randhawa², Maurine D Miner², Nzeera Ketter², Margaret Yacovone⁶, Ameena Goga^{4

7}, Yunda Huang^{2

8}, John Hural², Philip Kotze⁹, Linda Gail Bekker¹⁰, Glenda E Gray⁴, Lawrence Corey²; Ubuntu Study Team

Collaborators

Ubuntu Study Team:
Khatija Ahmed, Sharlaa Badal-Faesen, Shaun Barnabas, William Brumskine, Kim Comline, Andreas Diacon, Thozama Dubula, Katherine Gill, Coert Grobbelaar, Craig Innes, Sheetal Kassim, Sheena Kotze, Erica Lazarus, Johannes Lombaard, Angelique Luabeya, Rebone Molobane Maboa, Scott Mahoney, Disebo Mahkaza, Moelo Malahleha, Daniel Malan, Kathryn Mngadi, Nivashnee Naicker, Vimla Naicker, Logashvari Naidoo, Maphoshane Nchabeleng, Mohammed Rassool, Elizabeth Spooner, Hugo Tempelman, Nyaradzo Mgodi, Sufia Dadabhai, Joe Makhema, Harriet Nuwagaba-Biribonwoha, Taraz Samandari, Peter James Elyanu, Roma Chilengi, Zvavahera Chirenje, Julie McElrath, Myron Cohen, James Kublin, Peter Gilbert, Melissa Peda, Erica Andersen-Nissen, Guido Ferrari, Manuel Villaran, Azwidhwi Takalani, Marianne Gildea, Michelle Nebergall, Carrie Sopher, Lori Proulx-Burns, Dhevium Govender, Lisa Sanders, Jen Hanke, Kagisho Baepanye, Bert Le Roux, Haven Wilvich, Smitha Sripathy, Daciana Margineantu, Valerie Brown, Kim Linton, Haley Howell, Bianca Noronha, Sarah Nikles, Alicia Toledano, Jeanine May, Jill El-Khorazaty, Keshani Naidoo, Azwidhwi Takalani, Kentse Khuto, Fatima Mayat, Lara Fairall, Ian Sanne

Affiliations

¹ Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
² Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.
³ University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁴ South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁵ Bio Analytical Research Corporation South Africa and Lancet Laboratories, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁶ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
⁷ University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africaand.
⁸ Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁹ Qhakaza Mbokodo Research Clinic, Ladysmith, South Africa.
¹⁰ Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Abstract

We report a 23% asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) Omicron carriage rate in participants being enrolled into a clinical trial in South Africa, 15-fold higher than in trials before Omicron. We also found lower CD4 + T-cell counts in persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) strongly correlated with increased odds of being SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive.

Keywords: Omicron variant; PWH; SARS-CoV-2; South Africa; asymptomatic carriage.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Humans
Polymerase Chain Reaction
SARS-CoV-2*
South Africa / epidemiology

Supplementary concepts

SARS-CoV-2 variants

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Supplementary concepts

Grants and funding