TY - JOUR
T1 - SARS-CoV-2 Infections in a High-Risk Migratory Population Arriving to a Migrant House along the US-Mexico Border
AU - Fernández-Santos, Nadia A.
AU - Hamer, Gabriel L.
AU - Garrido-Lozada, Edith G.
AU - Rodríguez-Pérez, Mario A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - COVID-19
KW - México
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - infectious diseases
KW - migrants
KW - prevention
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140641467&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/tropicalmed7100262
DO - 10.3390/tropicalmed7100262
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 36288002
AN - SCOPUS:85140641467
SN - 2414-6366
VL - 7
JO - Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
JF - Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
IS - 10
M1 - 262
ER -