tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Trop Med Int Health
. 2021 Mar 18.
doi: 10.1111/tmi.13575. Online ahead of print.
Understanding varying COVID-19 mortality rates reported in Africa compared to Europe, United States of America and Asia
Emeka Francis Okonji[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Osaretin Christabel Okonji[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ferdinand C Mukumbang[SUP] 1 3 [/SUP], Brian VanWyk[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 infection, which causes the COVID-19 disease, has impacted every nation on the globe, albeit disproportionately. African countries have seen lower infection and mortality rates than the USA and several Europan nations. In this commentary we explore some of the factors purported to be responsible for the low COVID-19 infection and case fatality rates in Africa: low testing rate, poor documentation of cause of death, younger age population, good vitamin D status as a result of exposure to sunlight, cross-immunity from other viruses including coronaviruses, lessons learnt from other infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola. With the advent of a new variant of COVID-19, and inadequate roll-out of vaccines, an innovative and efficient response is needed to ramp up testing, contact tracing, and accurate reporting of infection rates and cause of death in order to mitigate the spread of the infection.
Keywords: Africa; COVID-19; Pandemic; SARS-COV-2 virus; testing capacity.
. 2021 Mar 18.
doi: 10.1111/tmi.13575. Online ahead of print.
Understanding varying COVID-19 mortality rates reported in Africa compared to Europe, United States of America and Asia
Emeka Francis Okonji[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Osaretin Christabel Okonji[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ferdinand C Mukumbang[SUP] 1 3 [/SUP], Brian VanWyk[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33733568
- DOI: 10.1111/tmi.13575
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 infection, which causes the COVID-19 disease, has impacted every nation on the globe, albeit disproportionately. African countries have seen lower infection and mortality rates than the USA and several Europan nations. In this commentary we explore some of the factors purported to be responsible for the low COVID-19 infection and case fatality rates in Africa: low testing rate, poor documentation of cause of death, younger age population, good vitamin D status as a result of exposure to sunlight, cross-immunity from other viruses including coronaviruses, lessons learnt from other infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola. With the advent of a new variant of COVID-19, and inadequate roll-out of vaccines, an innovative and efficient response is needed to ramp up testing, contact tracing, and accurate reporting of infection rates and cause of death in order to mitigate the spread of the infection.
Keywords: Africa; COVID-19; Pandemic; SARS-COV-2 virus; testing capacity.