Table 1. Characteristics of participants in survey of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in Malawi, October 2020*.
| Characteristic | Community participants, n = 4,261 |
Health facility staff, N = 970 |
Total, N = 5,231 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | Weighted proportion (95% CI) | No. (%) | Weighted proportion (95% CI) | |||
| Sex | ||||||
| M | 1,524 (35.8) | 36.6 (32.8–40.6) | 428 (44.1) | 47.5 (39–56) | 1,952 | |
| F |
2,737 (64.2) |
63.4 (59.4–67.2) |
|
542 (55.9) |
52.5 (44–61) |
3,279 |
| Age, y | ||||||
| 10–19 | 982 (23.0) | 20.1 (18.0–22.4) | 8 (0.8) | 0.4 (0.1–1.5) | 990 | |
| 20–29 | 1,085 (25.5) | 23.8 (21.9–25.8) | 291 (30.0) | 20.0 (14.8–26.3) | 1,376 | |
| 30–39 | 887 (20.8) | 21.7 (19.4–24.3) | 335 (34.5) | 38.7 (33.1–44.6) | 1,222 | |
| 40–49 | 626 (14.7) | 16.8 (15.1–18.7) | 236 (24.3) | 25.9 (22.6–29.5) | 862 | |
| ≥50 |
681 (16) |
17.5 (15.5–19.8) |
|
100 (10.3) |
15.0 (9.6–22.6) |
781 |
| District | ||||||
| Blantyre | 535 (12.6) | 16.0 (13.0–19.6) | 163 (16.8) | 15.1 (7.9–27.0) | 698 | |
| Karonga | 1,092 (25.6) | 8.5 (7.2–10.1) | 132 (13.6) | 19.9 (11.5–32.1) | 1,224 | |
| Lilongwe | 560 (13.1) | 37.8 (29.9–46.5) | 216 (22.3) | 23.6 (17.8–30.5) | 776 | |
| Mangochi | 937 (22.0) | 23.9 (19.8–28.6) | 191 (19.7) | 9.5 (7.2–12.4) | 1,128 | |
| Mzimba North |
1,137 (26.7) |
13.7 (11.4–16.4) |
|
268 (27.6) |
31.9 (22.6–42.9) |
1,405 |
| Location type | ||||||
| Rural | 1,505 (35.3) | 50.5 (38.3–62.5) | 406 (41.9) | 35.2 (32.1–38.2) | 1,911 | |
| Urban |
2,756 (64.7) |
49.5 (37.5–61.6) |
|
564 (58.1) |
64.7 (61.6–67.7) |
3,320 |
| Household size, categorical | ||||||
| 1–2 | 500 (11.7) | 15.1 (11.5–19.6) | 241 (24.8) | 23.5 (17.7–30.5) | 741 | |
| 3–4 | 1,888 (44.3) | 44.1 (41.1–47.1) | 331 (34.1) | 34.5 (29.4–40.1) | 2,219 | |
| ≥5 |
1,872 (43.9) |
40.8 (36.9–44.8) |
|
398 (41.0) |
42.0 (36.0–48.1) |
2,270 |
| Education† | ||||||
| No education | 339 (8.0) | 12.8 (8.8–18.2) | 0 | 0 | 339 | |
| Primary | 2,138 (50.5) | 53.3 (48.0–58.5) | 51 (5.3) | 4.6 (2.5–8.4) | 2,189 | |
| Secondary | 15,250 (35.9) | 29.0 (25.0–33.4) | 485 (50.0) | 58.9 (51.5–66.0) | 2,005 | |
| Tertiary/postsecondary |
237 (5.6) |
4.9 (3.7–6.5) |
|
434 (44.7) |
36.5 (29.3–44.3) |
671 |
| Occupation | ||||||
| Student | 950 (22.3) | 18.5 (16.4–20.8) | NA | NA | 950 | |
| Unemployed | 1,704 (40.0) | 46.0 (40.8–51.2) | NA | NA | 1,704 | |
| Employed, HFS | 30 (0.7) | 0.98 (0.7–1.4) | 970 | 970 | 65 | |
| Employed, non-HFS | 275 (6.5) | 0.54 (0.3–0.9) | NA | NA | 30 | |
| Retired | 65 (1.5) | 7.0 (5.4–9.1) | NA | NA | 275 | |
| Other |
1,237 (29.0) |
27.0 (22.6–31.9) |
|
NA |
NA |
1,237 |
| Preexisting medical conditions | ||||||
| Any medical condition | 472 (11.1) | 11.2 (9.6–13.0) | 175 (18.0) | 23.9 (19.6–28.9) | 647 | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 38 (0.9) | 0.7 (0.4–1.1) | 11 (1.1) | 0.7 (0.3–1.6) | 49 | |
| CVD, including hypertension | 224 (5.3) | 5.5 (4.3–6.9) | 68 (7.0) | 10.5 (6.3–16.9) | 292 | |
| Renal disease | 2 (0) | 0.04 (0.01–0.21) | 4 (0.4 | 1.0 (0.3–3.2) | 6 | |
| Immunosuppressive condition‡ | 78 (1.9) | 1.8 (1.3–2.5) | 39 (4.0%) | 5.7 (2.6–11.8) | 117 | |
| Obesity | 12 (0.3) | 0.2 (0.1–0.4) | 10 (1.0) | 0.6 (0.2–1.4) | 22 | |
| Asthma | 104 (2.5) | 2.4 (1.8–3.2) | 47 (4.8) | 6.9 (4.4–10.4) | 151 | |
| Chronic lung disease, including COPD | 8 (0.2) | 0.08 (0.04–0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 0.1 (0.03–0.5) | 10 | |
| Liver disease | 3 (0.1) | 0.05 (0.01–0.20) | 2 (0.2) | 1.0 (0.15–6.0) | 5 | |
| Other disease | 65 (1.6) | 2.1 (1.5–2.9) | 11 (1.1) | 1.4 (0.46–4.2) | 76 | |
*COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CVD, cardiovascular disease; HFS, health facility staff; NA, not applicable. †The highest level of education attained. Primary education = 8 y; secondary education = 4 y; tertiary/postsecondary = college/university education. ‡From cancer, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunosuppressive medications, self-reported HIV, organ transplant, or inherited immunodeficiency.