SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load Analysis at Low and High Altitude: A Case Study from Ecuador

Esteban Ortiz-Prado, Katherine Simbaña-Rivera, Raul Fernandez-Naranjo, Jorge Eduardo Vásconez, Aquiles R. Henriquez-Trujillo, Alexander Paolo Vallejo-Janeta, Ismar A. Rivera-Olivero, Tannya Lozada, Gines Viscor and Miguel Angel Garcia-Bereguiain
Additional contact information
Esteban Ortiz-Prado: One Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador
Katherine Simbaña-Rivera: One Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador
Raul Fernandez-Naranjo: One Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador
Jorge Eduardo Vásconez: One Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador
Aquiles R. Henriquez-Trujillo: One Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador
Alexander Paolo Vallejo-Janeta: Laboratorio de Investigación, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador
Ismar A. Rivera-Olivero: One Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador
Tannya Lozada: Laboratorio de Investigación, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador
Gines Viscor: Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Miguel Angel Garcia-Bereguiain: One Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-10

Abstract: SARS-CoV-2 has spread throughout the world, including remote areas such as those located at high altitudes. There is a debate about the role of hypobaric hypoxia on viral transmission and COVID-19 incidence. A descriptive cross-sectional analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and viral load among patients living at low (230 m) and high altitude (3800 m) in Ecuador was completed. Within these two communities, the total number of infected people at the time of the study was 108 cases (40.3%). The COVID-19 incidence proportion at low altitude was 64% while at high altitude was 30.3%. The mean viral load from those patients who tested positive was 3,499,184 copies/mL (SD = 23,931,479 copies/mL). At low altitude (Limoncocha), the average viral load was 140,223.8 copies/mL (SD = 990,840.9 copies/mL), while for the high altitude group (Oyacachi), the mean viral load was 6,394,789 copies/mL (SD = 32,493,469 copies/mL). We found no statistically significant differences when both results were compared ( p = 0.056). We found no significant differences across people living at low or high altitude; however, men and younger populations had higher viral load than women older populations, respectively.

Keywords: high altitude; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; hypoxia; viral load; cycle threshold (Ct); RT-PCR (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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