Abstract
The pandemic triggered by SARS-CoV-2 continuous to pose a global health threat, with cases of new infections and deaths still occurring despite increasing vaccination efforts. As in other regions of the world, the pandemic has led to unprecedented stretch of health and economic systems in countries in Africa. Nigeria, the most populous African country, has not been spared as the number of new infections continues to teeter amid a high level of vaccination hesitancy. Here, we provided a brief look at the background and biology of the virus. We also highlighted the epidemiology of the virus in Nigeria, as well as the challenges and opportunities it presents. Our review will add to the knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 and the situation of the pandemic in Nigeria, and provide a better response to the pandemic and future pandemics.
Highlights
In late 2019, cases of pneumonia with no known origin began to emerge in Wuhan [1,2], a densely populated city in China
An epidemiological investigation initiated by Chinese health authorities at the national and provincial levels revealed a novel, reportable disease outbreak. This disease was confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a viral disease and announced by its Director-General as coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with the causative agent termed “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2)” [3]
In some parts of the world, there seems to be a resurgence of the disease in areas where the pandemic was believed to be under control
Summary
In late 2019, cases of pneumonia with no known origin began to emerge in Wuhan [1,2], a densely populated city in China. An epidemiological investigation initiated by Chinese health authorities at the national and provincial levels revealed a novel, reportable disease outbreak This disease was confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a viral disease and announced by its Director-General as coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with the causative agent termed “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2)” [3]. Coronaviruses are associated with respiratory and gastrointestinal tract infections as important pathogens in both humans and animals They are spherical, enveloped, and 100-160 nm in diameter, with each particle having a single-stranded positive sense ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome that is approximately 27-32kb in size. Available data suggest that viral infection can trigger an excessive immune response in the host In some cases, this response occurs and is referred to as a "cytokine storm." The result of this event is extensive tissue damage.
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