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SARS-CoV-2 Infections in a High-Risk Migratory Population Arriving to a Migrant House along the US-Mexico Border

Few reports exist on the COVID-19 epidemiology of migrant populations. We tested 370 migratory individuals from ten countries arriving at a migrant house along the US–Mexico border based on a rapid assay detecting SARS-CoV-2 antigen. Fifty-six were positive, for a prevalence of 15.1% (95%–CIs of 11....

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Fernández-Santos, Nadia A., Hamer, Gabriel L., Garrido-Lozada, Edith G., Rodríguez-Pérez, Mario A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9607274/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36288002
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7100262
Descripción
Sumario:Few reports exist on the COVID-19 epidemiology of migrant populations. We tested 370 migratory individuals from ten countries arriving at a migrant house along the US–Mexico border based on a rapid assay detecting SARS-CoV-2 antigen. Fifty-six were positive, for a prevalence of 15.1% (95%–CIs of 11.8–19.2%). Only 21 positive persons presented signs or symptoms associated with the infection (95%–CIs = 25–49%). Most (51.7%) positive migrants arrived in the previous two days before being tested, indicating that the virus infection was acquired during their transit. Out of the total of 56 positive individuals, 37.5% were from El Salvador, 33.9% from Honduras, and 21.4% from Guatemala. This study suggests that vulnerable populations traveling from countries in Latin America and seeking residence in the US are high-risk individuals for exposure to SARS-CoV-2. The rapid antigen COVID-19 testing on arrival at the migrant house, and subsequent 10-day quarantine, was a critical step to help minimize further transmission. Therefore, the present study demonstrates that public health services provided to migratory and vulnerable populations are necessary for pandemic control.