Abstract

COVID-19 remains a global health emergency and continues to affect the general population, particularly healthcare workers on the front lines of the response. With this in mind, this study was conducted to understand the factors associated with COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Niger. This cross-sectional analytic study was carried out in Niger from July 1, 2021, to September 30, 2021, using one year of secondary data covering the period from March 19, 2020, to March 18, 2021. The study population consisted of healthcare workers who were tested for COVID-19 in Niger. Data were extracted from the national document review database. Data analysis was performed using Epi-info version 7.2.4.0. Proportions and means were calculated, and odds ratios (ORs) were measured. Of the 388 subjects in our study, 64.43% tested positive for COVID-19. The mean age of those tested was 38.63 years, with 51.03% being female? The Niamey region was the most affected, accounting for 34.54% of the cases. Notably, 56.66% of participants reported no COVID-19-related symptoms during the testing period, while 17.78%, representing nearly a quarter of the participants, experienced a cough, and followed by fever. In addition to the clinical signs observed during the COVID-19 test, participants also presented with comorbidities, including asthma (3.61%), diabetes (3.61%), arterial hypertension (6.19%), and sinusitis (2.32%). Fever and place of exposure were significantly associated with COVID-19, with adjusted odds ratios (ORa) of 2.4851 (95% CI: [1.0248–6.0259], p = 0.0440) and 21.6575 (95% CI: [2.7369–171.3760], p = 0.0036), respectively. COVID-19 continues to impact healthcare workers, who must be supported in managing the pandemic by adhering to protection and prevention measures in accordance with national guidelines.

Key words: Niger, Covid-19, health workers.