WHO seeks to understand why Africa is less affected by Covid-19
A mural encourages hand washing and the wearing of masks as preventive measures against the coronavirus, in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, August 13, 2020. Simon MAINA / AFP
Text by: Jeanne Richard Follow
4 min
To date, more than 1.4 million cases of Covid-19 have been recorded on the African continent and nearly 35,000 people have died from the coronavirus according to the Africa CDC (Center for Disease Prevention and Control of the African Union).
It is little compared to other continents.
The WHO organized this Thursday, September 24 a press conference to detail the first avenues of research to try to explain this situation.
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Initially, the outlook was poor.
Analysts predicted millions of deaths on the continent, which has a majority of poor countries with weak health systems.
But more than six months after the first case in Africa, the expected devastation has not occurred and the number of cases is declining in most countries.
After comparing the genetic code of several samples of SARS-CoV-2 in Africa, it appears that the virus is similar to the one circulating in Europe.
Scientists therefore rule out the possibility of a less dangerous African strain.
So how can we explain that the continent is largely escaping the pandemic?
Strict containment measures were adopted very early in most African countries.
And that has certainly helped keep the number of cases very low.
Like the fact that African countries already have experience of many infectious diseases such as malaria or Ebola, despite failing health systems.
But there are other reasons to explain the African particularity.
And even if the clinical and sociological data are still fragmented, researchers believe that the situation in Africa can be explained by a combination of multiple factors.
Cross immunity
A first explanation would come from the age of the population, according to Dr Matshidiso Moeti, director of WHO in Africa.
Scientists have in fact shown that the elderly are more at risk of contracting Covid-19.
“
In most African countries, around 3% of the population is over 65.
There are countries that have a higher death rate in Africa.
Algeria, for example, where we see that nearly 10% of the population is over 65 years old.
So we think age makes a difference.
And there are other factors
: international mobility, the ability to move within countries, road networks, the number of cars per capita.
All this plays on the ability of the virus to spread in countries.
"
The temperature or even the way of life could also play a role.
Matshidiso Moeti thus believes that the fact that the seniors live in the family home in Africa and not gathered in retirement homes, could avoid outbreaks of contagion.
Professor Francisca Mutapi, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Edinburgh, is also advancing other avenues of research.
“
The virus is rarely transmitted outdoors.
And Africa has a significant portion of the rural population who spend time outdoors.
We have also just started a large cross-immunity study in Zimbabwe to find out whether exposure to six other coronaviruses protects the population from SARS-CoV-2.
"
African data for Africa
Preliminary studies also show, for example, that 80% of Covid-19 cases in Africa are asymptomatic, against 40 to 50% in Europe, according to the WHO.
And for epidemiology professor Mark Woolhouse, who heads a data collection program in nine countries on the continent, it is important to better understand these African peculiarities: “
Africa has its own epidemic.
I have worked a lot on the epidemic in the UK and Europe.
These epidemics are different.
They do not have the same characteristics.
So I think that we will learn a lot of things from this African data intended for Africa.
"
The results of these various research programs are expected within a few months.
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