Africa’s low coronavirus rate due to robust preps – Senegal expert

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With just over 100 cases reported in total, Africa is on record as among the least impacted continents with respect to the coronavirus epidemic.

Experts are however pointing at the gradual incidence of cases in recent weeks. Eleven countries have so far confirmed cases with the most recent being the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.

Burkina Faso this week become the 10th African country to confirm COVID-19 – two cases from a woman who recently visited France.

Claudine Lougué, Burkina Faso’s health minister said: “This patient, recently stayed in Mulhouse in France with her husband and a third person, returned on February 24, 2020 without any symptoms. The three people who have traveled are people of Burkinabé nationality,” the Minister added.

The issue of possible underreporting of cases on the continent has been raised by international analysts. An expert with Senegal’s top disease control outfit says Africa has benefited from a robust preparedness for the epidemic.

Dr Amadou Sall, director of the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, also stressed the importance of lessons learned during the Ebola crisis that affected West Africa in 2014.

“I’m happy and proud [about] what Africa has done this time because usually we spend time running after epidemics when it is there but in this time we have been prepared,” he said.

“We put together a whole group of people that are going to be together working on referral of samples and confirmation, we’re going to do the [genetic] sequencing.

“And also very important we’re going to do research. Research is absolutely critical because three months ago nobody knew about this virus so understanding how it evolves in an African context is… absolutely important,” he added.

The underreporting concerns have usually been rebuffed especially on social media where users have rather accused Europe of bringing the disease to Africa.

Most confirmed cases in Africa were brought in by European travellers entering the territories or by Africans who have had recent travel history to Europe.

Africa News

Vanguard News

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