Coronavirus Disease 2019 Diagnostics: Key to Africa's Recovery.

Sanushka Naidoo,Shymaa Enany,Jesse Gitaka,Sara Baptista,Blessing Mbabie Oyedemi,Emmanuel Nepolo,Sara Suliman

doi:10.1089/dna.2021.0540

Abstract

With the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) becoming a full-blown outbreak in Africa, coupled with many other challenges faced on the African continent, it is apparent that Africa continues to need diagnostics to enable case identification and recovery to this and future challenges. With the slow vaccination rates across the continent, reliable diagnostic tests will be in demand, likely for years to come. Thus, access to reliable diagnostic tools to detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome of the coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19, remain a critical pillar to monitor and contain new waves of COVID-19. Increasing the local capacity to manufacture and roll-out vaccines and decentralized COVID-19 testing are paramount for fighting the pandemic in Africa.

Highlights

With the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) becoming a full-blown outbreak in Africa, coupled with many other challenges faced on the African continent, it is apparent that Africa continues to need diagnostics to enable case identification and recovery to this and future challenges
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 50% of mortality rates in children under 5 due to measles, diarrhea, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and pneumonia are in Africa (WHO, 2021)
To respond to COVID-19, many African Union member states have been using a combination of containment and mitigation measures to delay a surge in cases that could overwhelm the availability of hospital beds, while protecting the medically vulnerable, such as the elderly and those with comorbidities (Ondoa et al, 2020)