Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and Emergence of UK Variant in Zintan City of Libya

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The disease was first broke out in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and subsequently spread to all countries and was considered by WHO as a worldwide pandemic. This study is aimed to determine the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and the presence of UK variants in Zintan city of Libya taking some risk factors into account. Methods: In a cross-sectional retrospective study, a total of 15486 nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from COVID-19 suspected patients, travelers and people need disease-free certificates for hospital admission, etc. The samples were collected during the period from August 2020 to June 2021 and tested using real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) kits for SARS-CoV-2 and UK variants. Age groups, sex, and monthly weather were considered as risk factors. Results: The positivity rate of COVID-19 in Zintan city was estimated to be (3891; 25.12%) for the period from August 2020 to June 2021. Females showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher positivity rate (2100; 54%) as compared to males (1791; 46%). Out of the 3891 positive cases, 52 were deceased. The Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 1.33 recorded significantly in cases aged ≥ 65 years which was higher in males (56.66%) than females (43.33%). The peak of the first wave of infection was recorded in October 2020 (590; 15.15%) whereas the peak of the second wave of infection was recorded in April 2021 (727; 18.71%). The positivity rate was decreased as the temperature increased. UK variant is detected firstly in May 2021 with the percentage of 6.2% of tested samples. Conclusions: Health Authorities are encouraged to continue implementing the control measures during the decrease phase of infection to stop transmission of the virus in the next wave. Early detection of new variants and studying their genetic characteristics play a valuable role in prevention and control.