The Late Arrival of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Africa: Mitigating Pan-continental Spread

Jean Nachega; Moussa Seydi; Alimuddin Zumla

doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa353

The Late Arrival of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Africa: Mitigating Pan-continental Spread

Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Jul 28;71(15):875-878. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa353.

Authors

Jean Nachega^{1

2

3}, Moussa Seydi⁴, Alimuddin Zumla^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine and Center for Infectious Diseases, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
² Department of Epidemiology and Center for Global Health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
³ Departments of Epidemiology and International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁴ Service de Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicale, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Fann, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal.
⁵ Department of Infection, Division of Infection and Immunity, Centre for Clinical Microbiology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
⁶ National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, University College London Hospitals, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread to all 7 continents. Due to yet unknown reasons, the African continent has remained relatively unaffected. We discuss the importance of mitigating pan-continental spread in light of the fragile healthcare systems.

Keywords: Africa; COVID-19; SARS-Cov-2; pandemic.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Africa / epidemiology
Betacoronavirus
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Coronavirus Infections / virology*
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Pneumonia, Viral / virology*
SARS-CoV-2
World Health Organization

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding