Air pollution and other risk factors might buffer COVID-19 severity in Mozambique.

Jose Sumbana,Jahit Sacarlal,Salvatore Rubino

doi:10.3855/jidc.13057

Abstract

Mozambique is located on the East Coast of Africa and was one of the last countries affected by COVID-19. The first case was reported on 22 March 2020 and since then the cases have increased gradually as they have in other countries worldwide. Environmental and population characteristics have been analyzed worldwide to understand their possible association with COVID-19. This article seeks to highlight the evolution and the possible contribution of risk factors for COVID-19 severity according to the available data in Mozambique. The available data highlight that COVID-19 severity can be magnified mainly by hypertension, obesity, cancer, asthma, HIV/SIDA and malnutrition conditions, and buffered by age (youthful population). Due to COVID-19 epidemic evolution, particularly in Cabo Delgado, there is the need to increase laboratory diagnosis capacity and monitor compliance of preventive measures. Particular attention should be given to Cabo Delgado, including its isolation from other provinces, to overcome local transmission and the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Highlights

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent of COVID-19, that emerged from China (East Asia) in Wuhan, Hubei
It is well known that COVID-19 severity rises sharply for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, including cardiopulmonary disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes; and air pollution is considered an additional co-factor of the high level of lethality
Among the analyzed risk factors of COVID-19 severity, the available data suggests that non-communicable diseases (NCD) might play an important role in COVID-19 severity

Summary

Introduction

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2(SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent of COVID-19, that emerged from China (East Asia) in Wuhan, HubeiProvince, in December 2019, characterized mainly by fever, pneumonia, sneezing, and coughing [1,2,3].SARS-CoV-2 was declared by the World HealthOrganization (WHO) as a pandemic coronavirus due to its ability to spread quickly and efficiently to most of the world’s continents, swamping health-care systems, and devastating societies and economies. (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent of COVID-19, that emerged from China (East Asia) in Wuhan, Hubei. SARS-CoV-2 was declared by the World Health. Organization (WHO) as a pandemic coronavirus due to its ability to spread quickly and efficiently to most of the world’s continents, swamping health-care systems, and devastating societies and economies. To date (14 May 2020) 4,248,389 cases and 294,046 deaths have been confirmed worldwide in Europe, the Americas, the Western Pacific, the Eastern. Mediterranean, South-East Asia, and Africa [4]. In Africa, SARS-CoV-2 was confirmed on 14. February 2020; and the first case in Southern Africa was confirmed on 5 March 2020 in South Africa. To date (14 May 2020), 77,030 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Africa with 2,579 deaths, most of them in

Objectives

Findings

Conclusion