COVID-19 Pandemic in African Union Member Nations: An Epidemiological Overview

Abstract

Background: Despite the fragile health systems in Africa, the continent remains less impacted by COVID-19 pandemic with no clear understanding of the distributional patterns across the countries and regions. This study assessed the distribution patterns of COVID-19 infection and the associated epidemiologic measures across five geographical regions and the 53 African Union (AU) member countries.Methods: The COVID-19 infection data obtained from the Africa CDC website (www.africacdc.org) and covering the period from February 2020 to January 2021 was used for this study. We conducted descriptive and inferential analyses of the reported cases, deaths, active cases, recoveries and epidemiologic measures that included morbidity and mortality rates (MMR), case fatality rate, and case ratios.Results: A total of 3,196,589 SARS-CoV-2 sero-positive cases was reported in AU during the period under review, out of which, 77,486 died, 536,784 remained active cases and 2,582,372 recovered. The mean CFR in AU was 2.21%. The Southern region recorded the highest average reported cases (149,314), active cases (26,156), and deaths (3,942), while the Northern region recorded the highest average recoveries (121,372). Conversely, the central region recorded the least average number of reported cases (4,978), recoveries (4,554), and deaths (191), while the western region logged the least average number of active cases (2,274). Conclusion: The Northern and Southern African regions were worse hit than other regions. However, there is need to scale up laboratory testing for SARS-CoV-2 in other regions of AU to enhance proper case ascertainment, tracing, and treatment of COVID-19 cases in a timely manner.