Is Africa prepared for tackling the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic. Lessons from past outbreaks, ongoing pan-African public health efforts, and implications for the future

Nathan Kapata¹, Chikwe Ihekweazu², Francine Ntoumi³, Tajudeen Raji⁴, Pascalina Chanda-Kapata⁵, Peter Mwaba⁶, Victor Mukonka⁷, Matthew Bates⁸, John Tembo⁹, Victor Corman¹⁰, Sayoki Mfinanga¹¹, Danny Asogun¹², Linzy Elton¹³, Liã Bárbara Arruda¹⁴, Margaret J Thomason¹⁵, Leonard Mboera¹⁶, Alexei Yavlinsky¹⁷, Najmul Haider¹⁸, David Simons¹⁹, Lara Hollmann²⁰, Swaib A Lule²¹, Francisco Veas²², Muzamil Mahdi Abdel Hamid²³, Osman Dar²⁴, Sarah Edwards²⁵, Francesco Vairo²⁶, Timothy D McHugh²⁷, Christian Drosten²⁸, Richard Kock²⁹, Giuseppe Ippolito³⁰, Alimuddin Zumla³¹

Affiliations

¹ Zambia National Public Health Institute, Minsitry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia. Electronic address: nkapata@gmail.com.
² Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria. Electronic address: chikwe.ihekweazu@ncdc.gov.ng.
³ University Marien NGouabi, Brazzaville, Congo; Institute for Tropical Medicine/University of Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: fntoumi@fcrm-congo.com.
⁴ Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Electronic address: TajudeenR@africa-union.org.
⁵ Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia. Electronic address: pascykapata@gmail.com.
⁶ Lusaka Apex Medical University, Lusaka, Zambia. Electronic address: pbmwaba2000@gmail.com.
⁷ National Public Health Institute, Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia. Electronic address: vmukonka@gmail.com.
⁸ School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom. Electronic address: mbates@lincoln.ac.uk.
⁹ HerpeZ and UNZA-UCLMS Project, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia. Electronic address: john.tembo@gmail.com.
¹⁰ Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Virology, Berlin, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: victor.corman@charite.de.
¹¹ National Institute of Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Electronic address: gsmfinanga@yahoo.com.
¹² Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Nigeria. Electronic address: asogun2001@yahoo.com.
¹³ Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: linzy.elton@ucl.ac.uk.
¹⁴ Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: l.arruda@ucl.ac.uk.
¹⁵ Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: m.thomason@ucl.ac.uk.
¹⁶ SACIDS Foundation for One Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania. Electronic address: leonard.mboera@sacids.org.
¹⁷ Institute of Health Informatics, Faculty of Pop Health Sciences, UCL, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.yavlinsky@ucl.ac.uk.
¹⁸ The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Electronic address: nhaider@rvc.ac.uk.
¹⁹ The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Electronic address: dsimons19@rvc.ac.uk.
²⁰ Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: LHollmann@chathamhouse.org.
²¹ Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: swaiblule@gmail.com.
²² Faculty of Pharmacy, Montpellier University, IRD UMR5569, Montpellier, France. Electronic address: francisco.veas@ird.fr.
²³ Dept of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Institute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum, Sudan. Electronic address: mahdi@iend.org.
²⁴ Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Osman.Dar@phe.gov.uk.
²⁵ Ethics and Governance, University College London, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: sarah.edwards@ucl.ac.uk.
²⁶ National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani - IRCCS, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: francesco.vairo@inmi.it.
²⁷ Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: t.mchugh@ucl.ac.uk.
²⁸ Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Virology, Berlin, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: christian.drosten@charite.de.
²⁹ The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Electronic address: rkock@rvc.ac.uk.
³⁰ National Institute for Infectious Diseases - Lazzaro Spallanzani - IRCCS, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppe.ippolito@inmi.it.
³¹ Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom; Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.zumla@ucl.ac.uk.

PMID: 32119980
PMCID: PMC7129026
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.02.049

Editorial

Is Africa prepared for tackling the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic. Lessons from past outbreaks, ongoing pan-African public health efforts, and implications for the future

Nathan Kapata et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2020 Apr.

. 2020 Apr:93:233-236.

doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.02.049. Epub 2020 Feb 28.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Zambia National Public Health Institute, Minsitry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia. Electronic address: nkapata@gmail.com.
² Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria. Electronic address: chikwe.ihekweazu@ncdc.gov.ng.
³ University Marien NGouabi, Brazzaville, Congo; Institute for Tropical Medicine/University of Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: fntoumi@fcrm-congo.com.
⁴ Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Electronic address: TajudeenR@africa-union.org.
⁵ Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia. Electronic address: pascykapata@gmail.com.
⁶ Lusaka Apex Medical University, Lusaka, Zambia. Electronic address: pbmwaba2000@gmail.com.
⁷ National Public Health Institute, Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia. Electronic address: vmukonka@gmail.com.
⁸ School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom. Electronic address: mbates@lincoln.ac.uk.
⁹ HerpeZ and UNZA-UCLMS Project, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia. Electronic address: john.tembo@gmail.com.
¹⁰ Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Virology, Berlin, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: victor.corman@charite.de.
¹¹ National Institute of Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Electronic address: gsmfinanga@yahoo.com.
¹² Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Nigeria. Electronic address: asogun2001@yahoo.com.
¹³ Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: linzy.elton@ucl.ac.uk.
¹⁴ Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: l.arruda@ucl.ac.uk.
¹⁵ Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: m.thomason@ucl.ac.uk.
¹⁶ SACIDS Foundation for One Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania. Electronic address: leonard.mboera@sacids.org.
¹⁷ Institute of Health Informatics, Faculty of Pop Health Sciences, UCL, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.yavlinsky@ucl.ac.uk.
¹⁸ The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Electronic address: nhaider@rvc.ac.uk.
¹⁹ The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Electronic address: dsimons19@rvc.ac.uk.
²⁰ Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: LHollmann@chathamhouse.org.
²¹ Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: swaiblule@gmail.com.
²² Faculty of Pharmacy, Montpellier University, IRD UMR5569, Montpellier, France. Electronic address: francisco.veas@ird.fr.
²³ Dept of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Institute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum, Sudan. Electronic address: mahdi@iend.org.
²⁴ Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Osman.Dar@phe.gov.uk.
²⁵ Ethics and Governance, University College London, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: sarah.edwards@ucl.ac.uk.
²⁶ National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani - IRCCS, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: francesco.vairo@inmi.it.
²⁷ Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: t.mchugh@ucl.ac.uk.
²⁸ Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Virology, Berlin, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: christian.drosten@charite.de.
²⁹ The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Electronic address: rkock@rvc.ac.uk.
³⁰ National Institute for Infectious Diseases - Lazzaro Spallanzani - IRCCS, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppe.ippolito@inmi.it.
³¹ Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom; Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.zumla@ucl.ac.uk.

PMID: 32119980
PMCID: PMC7129026
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.02.049

No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment on

Spatial and temporal distribution of infectious disease epidemics, disasters and other potential public health emergencies in the World Health Organisation Africa region, 2016-2018.
Talisuna AO, Okiro EA, Yahaya AA, Stephen M, Bonkoungou B, Musa EO, Minkoulou EM, Okeibunor J, Impouma B, Djingarey HM, Yao NKM, Oka S, Yoti Z, Fall IS. Talisuna AO, et al. Global Health. 2020 Jan 15;16(1):9. doi: 10.1186/s12992-019-0540-4. Global Health. 2020. PMID: 31941554 Free PMC article.

References

1. http://www.africacdc.org/Africa centers for disease control and prevention. . [Accessed 17 February 2020].
1. Aruna A., Mbala P., Minikulu L. Ebola virus disease outbreak – Democratic Republic of the Congo, August 2018-November 2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(December (50)):1162–1165. - PMC - PubMed
1. Corman V.M., Landt O., Kaiser M. Detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by real-time RT-PCR. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(January (3)) doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.3.2000045. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Hui D.S., I Azhar E., Madani T.A. The continuing 2019-nCoV epidemic threat of novel coronaviruses to global health – the latest 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. Int J Infect Dis. 2020;91:264–266. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.01.009. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Hui D.S., Memish Z.A., Zumla A. Severe acute respiratory syndrome vs. the Middle East respiratory syndrome. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2014;20:233–241. - PubMed

Publication types

Actions
Actions

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
Miscellaneous
- NCI CPTAC Assay Portal

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Is Africa prepared for tackling the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic. Lessons from past outbreaks, ongoing pan-African public health efforts, and implications for the future

Affiliations

Is Africa prepared for tackling the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic. Lessons from past outbreaks, ongoing pan-African public health efforts, and implications for the future

Authors

Affiliations

Comment on

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Miscellaneous