Kambiré Dinanibè^1,, Cissé Kadari¹, Dabiré Sanhitouo Charlemagne¹, Zida Sylvie¹, Ouédraogo Oumarou¹, Compaoré T Rebeca¹, Zouré Abdou-Azaque¹, Soubeiga R Théophile Serge¹, Ki Célestine¹, Kpoda Dissinviel Stéphane², Tondé Issa³, Diallo Dramane⁴, Sidibé Tiany⁵, Koevogui Massa⁶, Ouédraogo/Traoré Rasmata³, Kouanda Seni¹, Ouédraogo Henri Gautier¹

Introduction: Coronavirus 2019 originated in Wuhan, China. No country in the world has been spared. Several barrier measures had been taken at the national level to limit the spread of the disease. This study aimed to assess knowledge, vaccination rates, and seroprevalence of COVID-19 among Female sex workers (FSWs) in Burkina Faso. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from June to August 2022 in the five (5) main cities of Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso, Koudougou, Ouahigouya and Tenkodogo). The respondent-based sampling (RDS) method was used to recruit FSWs. Blood samples were taken to test for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (Ab using Enzyme-linked immunosortbent assay (ELISA) tests. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) were also used to discriminate IgG and IgM antibodies. RDS Analysis software was used for weight calculation, and Stata 14.0 for data analysis. Generalized equation estimation was used to investigate possible factors associated with seroprevalence and knowledge of infection. Results: Of 1055 FSWs included, 49% [95% CI: 45.2 - 52.7%], 62.9% [95% CI: 59.2 - 66.5%], and 78.6% [95% CI: 75.6 - 81.3%] knew that the virus could be transmitted by blood, contact with an infected person and sweat respectively. Among the study population, 19.5% [95% CI: 16.7 - 22.6%] of FSWs were vaccinated. In addition, the seroprevalence of total anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (Ab) was 98.6% [95% IC: 97.2% - 99.3%] among FSWs in Burkina Faso. According to the type of Ab, it was 93.6% [95% CI: 91.6 - 95.2] for Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and 4% [95% CI: 3.5 - 6.6] for Immunoglobulin M (IgM). No risk factors were identified as being associated with exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusions: This study results have shown that almost all FSWs in Burkina Faso carried anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in August 2022, indicating high exposure to the virus during the first two years of the pandemic. However, further work is required to verify that the antibodies are protective (neutralizing antibodies).

Seroprevalence, COVID-19, FSWs, Burkina Faso