WHO strengthens its coronavirus support to Africa

WHILE there have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus reported in Africa, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has strengthened its support to countries in the detection and management of suspected cases should one be detected.

The viral outbreak has affected more than 24 500 people globally, with China reporting 490 deaths so far.

Hong Kong has reported 21 cases, including one death. Most of the deaths have been in the central Chinese province of Hubei, where symptoms of the virus were first detected in December.

Governments have rushed to assist citizens in leaving China, which is orchestrating one of the world’s largest anti-viral campaigns by blocking 50 million people from leaving Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak.

Several Chinese cities have discouraged residents from leaving their apartments, while villages have blocked entry points with piles of dirt and rubble, and businesses and offices remain closed.

Africa has close ties with China and since January 22, WHO has received dozens of alerts regarding possible coronavirus infections from 20 countries.

Once countries have determined whether these alerts meet the definition of a 2019-nCoV suspect case, samples are taken and sent to laboratories.

Quarantine measures are a major concern in Africa, where health systems on the 54-country continent vary dramatically. John Nkengasong, head of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said there could be undetected infections on the continent.

Up until earlier this week there were only two laboratories – in Senegal and South Africa – which had the reagents to test samples, and they have been working as referral labs for countries across the region.

“A new virus is always a challenge and most laboratories in Africa lack the key material they need to perform tests on a novel pathogen,” said WHO regional director, Dr Matshidiso Moeti.

“WHO is working with countries to rapidly scale-up diagnostic capacity for 2019-nCoV. It is crucial that countries in the region can detect and treat severe cases early, preventing a widespread outbreak, which could overwhelm fragile health systems.”

WHO has identified 13 priority African countries which due to direct links or high volume of travel to China need to be particularly vigilant for the virus.

THE Coronavirus has resulted in the imposition of travel restrictions and the closure of China to the world, affecting the global economy, especially those of developing countries, for whom China has become an increasingly important partner.

But it is the human cost that is of paramount concern as close to 500 people have died of the disease in China, with more than 24000 cases worldwide.

The 2003 outbreak of Sars – another coronavirus strand – infected 5 327 people in mainland China, with 349 deaths.

China’s economy recovered after this outbreak and indications are that it will do so again, although the impact is greater this time around as China has a larger share of global GDP.

The coronavirus has been declared a public health emergency of international concern, but the South African government has not panicked, saying the 165 South African students and 54 teachers currently living in Wuhan, China, and about 3 000 students in that country will not be evacuated at this stage.

Chinese Ambassador Lin Songtian this week expressed concern about the fact that European countries and the US had evacuated their citizens from China, saying this had the potential to transmit the virus in cases that were undetected.

Behind-the-scenes scientists are racing against time to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. Saving lives is their paramount concern.