{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]],"date-time":"2025-11-19T07:08:16Z","timestamp":1763536096134,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,8]],"date-time":"2023-03-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1678233600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>The lower burden of COVID-19 in tropical settings may be due to preexisting cross-immunity, which might vary according to geographical locations and potential exposure to other pathogens. We sought to assess the overall prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and determine SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity according to HIV-status before the COVID-19 pandemic era.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A cross-sectional and comparative study was conducted at the Chantal BIYA International Reference Centre (CIRCB) on 288 stored plasma samples (163 HIV-positive versus 125 HIV-negative); all collected in 2017-2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic era. Abbott Panbio\u2122 COVID-19 IgG\/IgM assay was used for detecting SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) and M (IgM). Among people living with HIV (PLHIV), HIV-1 viral load and TCD4 cell count (LTCD4) were measured using Abbott Real Time PCR and BD FACSCalibur respectively. Statistical analyses were performed, with p&amp;lt;0.05 considered statistically significant.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The median [IQR] age was 25 [15-38] years. Overall seropositivity to SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 13.5% (39\/288) of which 7.3% (21) was IgG, 7.3% (21) IgM and 1.0% (3) IgG\/IgM. According to HIV-status in the study population, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was 11.0% (18\/163) among HIV-positive versus 16.8% (21\/125) among HIV-negative respectively, p=0.21. Specifically, IgG was 6.1% (10\/163) versus 8.8% (11\/125), p=0.26; IgM was 5.5% (9\/163) versus 9.6%, (12\/125), p=0.13 and IgG\/IgM was 0.6% (1\/163) versus 1.6% (2\/125) respectively. Among PLHIV, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity according to CD4 count was 9.2% (\u2265500 cells\/\u00b5L) versus 1.8% (200-499 cells\/\u00b5L), (OR=3.5; p=0.04) and 0.6% (&amp;lt;200 cells\/\u00b5L), (OR=17.7; p&amp;lt;0.01). According to viral load, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was 6.7% (\u226540 copies\/mL) versus 4.9% (&amp;lt;40 copies\/mL), (OR= 3.8; p&amp;lt;0.01).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Before COVID-19 in Cameroon, cross-reactive antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were in circulation, indicating COVID-19 preexisting immunity. This preexisting immunity may contribute in attenuating disease severity in tropical settings like Cameroon. Of relevance, COVID-19 preexisting immunity is lower with HIV-infection, specifically with viral replication and poor CD4-cell count. As poor CD4-count leads to lower cross-reactive antibodies (regardless of viral load), people living with HIV appear more vulnerable to COVID-19 and should be prioritized for vaccination.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2023.1155855","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,8]],"date-time":"2023-03-08T06:04:17Z","timestamp":1678255457000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Pre-existing immunity to SARS-CoV-2 before the COVID-19 pandemic era in Cameroon: A comparative analysis according to HIV-status"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Abba","family":"Aissatou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Joseph","family":"Fokam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ezechiel Ngoufack Jagni","family":"Semengue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"D\u00e9sir\u00e9","family":"Takou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aude Christelle","family":"Ka\u2019e","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Collins Chenwi","family":"Ambe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alex Durand","family":"Nka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sandrine Claire","family":"Djupsa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gr\u00e2ce","family":"Beloumou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Ciaffi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michel Carlos Tommo","family":"Tchouaket","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Audrey Rachel Mundo","family":"Nayang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Willy Leroi Togna","family":"Pabo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ren\u00e9 Ghislain","family":"Essomba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Edie G. 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