tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Clin Infect Dis
. 2022 Jun 25;ciac401.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac401. Online ahead of print.
SARS-CoV-2 in Africa: current considerations and future projections
Olubukola T Idoko[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Effua Usuf[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Uduak Okomo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chizoba Wonodi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kondwani Jambo[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Beate Kampmann[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shabir Mahdi[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Ifedayo Adetifa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], on behalf on 44th and 45th West African College of Physicians Annual General and Scientific Meeting Scientific Committee
Affiliations
Abstract
The burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) referred to as COVID-19 has been relatively low in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) compared to Europe and the Americas. However, SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence data suggests that case counts may be orders of magnitude higher than those reported due to low testing capacity and high prevalence of asymptomatic infections in the community, among other factors (Sagara et al., 2021). Sero surveillance studies have shown sero prevalence rates as high as 70% in several subpopulations, indicating widespread viral transmission (Morton et al., 2021, Salako et al., 2021, Mandolo et al., 2021, Uyoga et al., 2021, Razafimahatratra et al., 2021). Although the incidence of severe COVID-19 is relatively low in SSA, continued viral transmission in a context of low vaccine coverage creates room for the emergence of viral variants of concern. We highlight in this article some peculiarities of the ongoing pandemic on the African continent which is home to 18% of the world's population and suggest options to tackle the current challenges while addressing future pandemic preparedness.
. 2022 Jun 25;ciac401.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac401. Online ahead of print.
SARS-CoV-2 in Africa: current considerations and future projections
Olubukola T Idoko[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Effua Usuf[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Uduak Okomo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chizoba Wonodi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kondwani Jambo[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Beate Kampmann[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shabir Mahdi[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Ifedayo Adetifa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], on behalf on 44th and 45th West African College of Physicians Annual General and Scientific Meeting Scientific Committee
Affiliations
- PMID: 35749696
- DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciac401
Abstract
The burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) referred to as COVID-19 has been relatively low in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) compared to Europe and the Americas. However, SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence data suggests that case counts may be orders of magnitude higher than those reported due to low testing capacity and high prevalence of asymptomatic infections in the community, among other factors (Sagara et al., 2021). Sero surveillance studies have shown sero prevalence rates as high as 70% in several subpopulations, indicating widespread viral transmission (Morton et al., 2021, Salako et al., 2021, Mandolo et al., 2021, Uyoga et al., 2021, Razafimahatratra et al., 2021). Although the incidence of severe COVID-19 is relatively low in SSA, continued viral transmission in a context of low vaccine coverage creates room for the emergence of viral variants of concern. We highlight in this article some peculiarities of the ongoing pandemic on the African continent which is home to 18% of the world's population and suggest options to tackle the current challenges while addressing future pandemic preparedness.