Improving COVID-19 Contact Tracing and Testing of Exposed Individuals in Cameroon using Digital Health Technology: a Cluster Randomised Trial

Background

Contact tracing was described as a key strategy to contribute to controlling the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome of Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) but implementing it can be a challenge. Digitalisation of contact tracing is among the proposed solutions being explored in sub-Saharan African settings. We assessed the effectiveness of a digital tool to expand SARS-CoV-2 testing in exposed individuals in Cameroon.

Methods

We conducted a cluster-randomised (1:1) trial in eight health districts, including 22 facilities and SARS-CoV-2 testing units, randomly assigned to a digital (intervention) or standard (control) contact tracing approach. The intervention consisted of a contact tracing module added to the digital platform “Mamal PRO” used for monitoring and coordination of Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic response in Cameroon. The primary outcome was the proportion of contacts declared by SAR-CoV-2 index patients who were successfully traced and tested for SARS-CoV-2 evaluated with a Poisson regression model with cluster adjustment. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05684887).

Findings

Between October 18, 2022, and March 31, 2023, we enrolled 164 index patients in the intervention arm and 149 in the control arm, who identified 854 and 849 contacts, respectively. In the intervention arm, 93.8% (801/854) of identified contacts were successfully reached by the tracing unit versus 54.5% (463/849) in the control arm. The intervention significantly increased the likelihood of successfully tracing contacts (adjusted relative risks (RR) 1.72 [95% CI: 1.00–2.95], p = 0.049). The median (interquartile range, IQR) time to successfully tracing contacts was 0 days [IQR: 0, 1] in the intervention and 1 day [IQR: 0, 2] in the control arm. In the intervention arm, 21.3% (182/854) of identified contacts received SARS-CoV-2 testing compared to 14.5% (123/849) in the control arm (adjusted RR 1.47 [95% CI: 0.44–4.90], p = 0.530).

Interpretation

Digitalising the contact tracing process improved exposure notification and facilitated the tracing of a greater number of contacts of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 in resource-limited settings.