Covid 19 in Temara-Skhirat: Prevalence in symptomatic young adults using
the PANBIOS® rapid antigenic test september 2021
Abstract
Background: Rapid antigen tests have emerged to deal with the Covid 19
pandemic. Rapid diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is essential to reduce
the spread of the disease. The aim of this study was to estimate the
prevalence of COVID-19 infection in Temara-Skhirat in symptomatic young
adults through PANBIOS® test Methods: A prospective observational
prevalence was conducted at the center in September 2021. Two
investigators participated in data collection which included all
symptomatic young adult patients. The diagnostic performance of the
PANBIOS® and the PCR was carried out with the JAMOVI to calculate the
sensitivity and the specificity. Results: Among 206 symptomatic
participants, the mean age was 38 ± 12 years and majority were women
59%. 80% of the population had benefited from the anti-covid vaccine.
The median duration of symptoms was 4 days; the most common symptoms
were respectively fatigue 62%, headache 52%, fever 48%, cough 34%,
loss of smell 25%, loss of taste 24%, sore throat 22%. Results
revealed 23% of positive covid tests carried out with the PANBIOS® test
vs 30% with the PCR test. The calculated medical decision between PCR
vs PANBIOS® test showed a very high specificity of 95.7% and a
sensitivity of 69.4%. There was a concordance between the PANBIOS® test
and the PCR. Conclusion: The sensitivity and specificity of the PANBIOS®
vs PCR test are similar to those described in WHO recommendations. It is
a Useful test for controlling the spread of Covid 19 allowing
identification of active infection and isolation of positive patient