Coronavirus: Africa faces the threat of the epidemic

Text by: Romain Philips Follow

Three cases of coronavirus are confirmed in Africa, Friday, February 28. Concern is mounting about the spread of Sars-CoV-2 on the continent. Since January, WHO, with the authorities of different African countries, has been preparing the arrival of the virus. In the rest of the world, the toll indicates about 80,000 infected and more than 2,800 dead.

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Faced with the global spread of the new coronavirus , Africa, where "only" 3 cases in Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria are confirmed, is preparing to face potential new infections.

The rampant spread in Europe of the Covid-19 virus has reshuffled the cards. " Today we are in a different configuration because the epidemic focus is only in China and therefore cases can come from anywhere, " warned Mathias Altmann, research epidemiologist at the University of Bordeaux. " The models no longer need to be, " he adds. Indeed, out of the three contaminations detected in Africa, two come from Italy.

► Read: Coronavirus: a case identified in Nigeria, the first in sub-Saharan Africa

Should new cases be treated as possible new sources of contamination? “ For each detection, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the health system is a bit weak, cases really need to be detected as soon as possible. You have to go back up the chain, identify potential contacts and follow them up to stem or, in any case, slow down the chain of transmission, ”replies Éric D'Ortenzio, epidemiologist at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research ( Inserm).

“ All countries in Africa are able to screen for Covid-19 ”

" Since the beginning of this epidemic, what scares us the most is the arrival of the virus in countries with weak health systems ," said the spokesman for the WHO. " It is necessary that the diagnostic capacities are very strong, that all the countries are equipped and that the biologists are trained at the level of each country ", recommends Eric D'Ortenzio. It also suggests decentralizing the diagnosis to hospital laboratories to speed up the treatment of new patients and containment measures.

Since January, the World Health Organization has been helping African countries to cope with the arrival of coronavirus on their territory. " Now, all countries in Africa are able to screen for Covid-19, " reassures Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson for the WHO. A screening kit has been prepared and, although there is no specific treatment to combat Covid-19, a set of drugs to treat the symptoms has also been distributed.

►Read: What treatments against the Covid-19 epidemic?

The various laboratories of the ECOWAS States came together to be trained in screening on Thursday February 27. On the program: deepening knowledge of the coronavirus and putting into practice the means of control. There was also talk of setting up a network to more effectively fight the epidemic. But for Abdourahmane Sow of the ECOWAS, “ the management of confirmed cases remains a problem. We must be able to work in this direction to improve the existing and improve the conditions of case management ”.

In Nigeria, authorities say quarantine centers are ready in Lagos and Abuja. Virus detection laboratories are also present in several cities across the country. But the concern remains because if countries are ready to detect the virus, they are not necessarily capable of handling a large influx of patients. There is a " need for material support to better equip all levels of the health system chain ," says Éric D'Ortenzio.

The experience of the fight against Ebola

The experience of the fight against Ebola will be favorable to that against the coronavirus, in particular because certain devices are already in place and the field staff know the action plans. " In West Africa, countries have been strengthened in terms of the capacity to manage an epidemic crisis ", but experts remain cautious, " it must be understood that here we are faced with two viruses with a transmission that is different " , recalls Eric D'Ortenzo.

Between a virus which is transmitted by “ contact with fluids ” such as Ebola and a coronavirus whose contamination takes place by air , the fight against the spread is not the same. And " African countries are less experienced on a virus with respiratory transmission than on viruses with transmission by fluids or water ", analyzes the researcher at Inserm.

Admittedly, the continent must face a lack of means, but the main objective for the future is to " maintain confidence ", estimates Mathias Altmann. “ We saw in particular in the crisis caused by Ebola, that as long as we were in coercive measures and a lack of confidence with the population, we could not resolve the problem. "

► (Re) listen to our special edition: From epidemic to pandemic? The coronavirus in seven questions

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