Browsing by Author "Mignon du Plessis"

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    Incidence and Transmission Dynamics of Bordetella pertussis Infection in Rural and Urban Communities, South Africa, 2016‒2018
    (2023-02-02) Fahima Moosa; Stefano Tempia; Jackie Kleynhans; Meredith McMorrow; Jocelyn Moyes; Mignon du Plessis; Maimuna Carrim; Florette K. Treurnicht; Orienka Helfersee; Thulisa Mkhencele; Azwifarwi Mathunjwa; Neil A. Martinson; Kathleen Kahn; Limakatso Lebina; Floidy Wafawanaka; Cheryl Cohen; Anne von Gottberg; Nicole Wolter
    We conducted 3 prospective cohort studies (2016–2018), enrolling persons from 2 communities in South Africa. Nasopharyngeal swab specimens were collected twice a week from participants. Factors associated with Bordetella pertussis incidence, episode duration, and household transmission were determined by using Poisson regression, Weibull accelerated time-failure, and logistic regression hierarchical models, respectively. Among 1,684 participants, 118 episodes of infection were detected in 107 participants (incidence 0.21, 95% CI 0.17–0.25 infections/100 person-weeks). Children <5 years of age who had incomplete vaccination were more likely to have pertussis infection. Episode duration was longer for participants who had higher bacterial loads. Transmission was more likely to occur from male index case-patients and persons who had >7 days infection duration. In both communities, there was high incidence of B. pertussis infection and most cases were colonized.
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    SARS-CoV-2 incidence, transmission and reinfection in a rural and an urban setting: results of the PHIRST-C cohort study, South Africa, 2020-2021
    (2021-12-04) Cheryl Cohen; Jackie Kleynhans; Anne von Gottberg; Meredith L McMorrow; Nicole Wolter; Jinal N Bhiman; Jocelyn Moyes; Jacques du Toit; Mignon du Plessis; Francesc Xavier Gómez-Olivé; Fatimah S Dawood; Thulisa Mkhencele; Kaiyun Sun; Cécile Viboud; Maimuna Carrim; Amelia Buys; Neil A Martinson; Kathleen Kahn; Stephen Tollman; Limakatso Lebina; Floi Wafawanaka
    Background: By August 2021, South Africa experienced three SARS-CoV-2 waves; the second and third associated with emergence of Beta and Delta variants respectively. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study during July 2020-August 2021 in one rural and one urban community. Mid-turbinate nasal swabs were collected twice-weekly from household members irrespective of symptoms and tested for SARS-CoV-2 using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR). Serum was collected every two months and tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Results: Among 115,759 nasal specimens from 1,200 members (follow-up rate 93%), 1976 (2%) were SARS-CoV-2-positive. By rRT-PCR and serology combined, 62% (749/1200) of individuals experienced ≥1 SARS-CoV-2 infection episode, and 12% (87/749) experienced reinfection. Of 662 PCR-confirmed episodes with available data, 15% (n=97) were associated with ≥1 symptom. Among 222 households, 200 (90%) had ≥1 SARS-CoV-2-positive individual. Household cumulative infection risk (HCIR) was 25% (213/856). On multivariable analysis, accounting for age and sex, index case lower cycle threshold value (OR 3.9, 95%CI 1.7-8.8), urban community (OR 2.0,95%CI 1.1-3.9), Beta (OR 4.2, 95%CI 1.7-10.1) and Delta (OR 14.6, 95%CI 5.7-37.5) variant infection were associated with increased HCIR. HCIR was similar for symptomatic (21/110, 19%) and asymptomatic (195/775, 25%) index cases (p=0.165). Attack rates were highest in individuals aged 13-18 years and individuals in this age group were more likely to experience repeat infections and to acquire SARS-CoV-2 infection. People living with HIV who were not virally supressed were more likely to develop symptomatic illness, and shed SARS-CoV-2 for longer compared to HIV-uninfected individuals. Conclusions: In this study, 85% of SARS-CoV-2 infections were asymptomatic and index case symptom status did not affect HCIR, suggesting a limited role for control measures targeting symptomatic individuals. Increased household transmission of Beta and Delta variants, likely contributed to successive waves, with >60% of individuals infected by the end of follow-up.