The prospects for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Africa

EMBO Mol Med. 2020 Jun 8;12(6):e12488. doi: 10.15252/emmm.202012488. Epub 2020 May 5.

Abstract

On December 31, 2019, the Chinese government officially announced the identification of a new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) as the etiological cause of a severe acute respiratory syndrome in Wuhan city, Hubei Province. Over the next weeks, SARS-CoV-2 caused a global pandemic as officially declared by the WHO on March 11, 2020, with confirmed cases and deaths in more than 166 countries. We are experiencing a worldwide phenomenon of unprecedented social and economic consequences. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, there have been fears that the epidemic could strongly impact weaker healthcare systems in poor-resource settings, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The 2 million Chinese nationals that live and work in Africa could potentially contribute to the spread of COVID-19 on the continent.

MeSH terms

  • Africa
  • Betacoronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis*
  • Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology
  • Developing Countries
  • Humans
  • Italy
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology
  • Pneumonia, Viral / virology
  • Risk
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / diagnosis
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology
  • Transients and Migrants