Clinical presentation of the Coronavirus disease 2019 at the time of testing and associated factors to pre-symptomatic cases in Cameroon.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical features at time of testing, and explore associated factors to SARS-CoV-2 infection and to pre-symptomatic cases in Cameroon. METHODS: Data of participants tested in Cameroon for COVID-19 by RT-PCR between March 1st and October 5th, 2020 were used. After descriptive analysis, a multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated to SARS-CoV-2 infection and to pre-symptomatic cases. RESULTS: Of the 85 206 participants tested, 14 863 (17.4%) were infected by SARS-CoV-2. The median age was 38.4 years (IQR: 29.6-49.4) for laboratory-confirmed cases. Only 6.1% of the later were aged <19 years while 6.3% were ≥ 65 years. About 46.5% laboratory-confirmed participants had at least one symptom/sign with a median number of days from illness onset to sample collection for testing of 6 days (IQR: 3-9). Cough (64.2%), headache (46.5%), fatigue/malaise (46.0%), shortness of breath (30.6%), and myalgia/arthralgia (25.6%) were the most commonly observed symptoms/signs. Pre-symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection were associated with age <50 years, male participants, and absence of comorbidities. CONCLUSION: This study provides a comprehensive summary of early clinical profile of SARS-CoV-2 infection dominated by pre-symptomatic illness during the first wave of COVID-19 in Cameroon. These findings would be helpful for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance and control at regional level.