Introduction: Coronavirus 2019 originated in Wuhan, China. No country in the world has been spared.
Several barrier measures had been taken at the national level to limit the spread of the disease. This study aimed to
assess knowledge, vaccination rates, and seroprevalence of COVID-19 among Female sex workers (FSWs) in
Burkina Faso. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from June to August 2022 in the five (5) main
cities of Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso, Koudougou, Ouahigouya and Tenkodogo). The respondentbased sampling (RDS) method was used to recruit FSWs. Blood samples were taken to test for anti-SARS-CoV-2
antibodies (Ab using Enzyme-linked immunosortbent assay (ELISA) tests. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) were also
used to discriminate IgG and IgM antibodies. RDS Analysis software was used for weight calculation, and Stata
14.0 for data analysis. Generalized equation estimation was used to investigate possible factors associated with
seroprevalence and knowledge of infection. Results: Of 1055 FSWs included, 49% [95% CI: 45.2 - 52.7%], 62.9%
[95% CI: 59.2 - 66.5%], and 78.6% [95% CI: 75.6 - 81.3%] knew that the virus could be transmitted by blood,
contact with an infected person and sweat respectively. Among the study population, 19.5% [95% CI: 16.7 - 22.6%]
of FSWs were vaccinated. In addition, the seroprevalence of total anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (Ab) was 98.6% [95%
IC: 97.2% - 99.3%] among FSWs in Burkina Faso. According to the type of Ab, it was 93.6% [95% CI: 91.6 - 95.2]
for Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and 4% [95% CI: 3.5 - 6.6] for Immunoglobulin M (IgM). No risk factors were
identified as being associated with exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusions: This study results have shown
that almost all FSWs in Burkina Faso carried anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in August 2022, indicating high exposure
to the virus during the first two years of the pandemic. However, further work is required to verify that the
antibodies are protective (neutralizing antibodies).

Seroprevalence, COVID-19, FSWs, Burkina Faso