Abstract
IntroductionFew data on the COVID-19 epidemiological characteristics among the pediatric population in Africa exists. This paper examines the age and sex distribution of the morbidity and mortality rate in children with COVID-19 and compares it to the adult population in 15 Sub-Saharan African countries. MethodsA merge line listing dataset shared by countries within the Regional Office for Africa was analyzed. Patients diagnosed within 1 March and 1 September 2020 with a confirmed positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed. Children's data were stratified into three age groups: 0-4 years, 5-11 years, and 12-17 years, while adults were combined. The cumulative incidence of cases, its medians, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results9% of the total confirmed cases and 2.4% of the reported deaths were pediatric cases. The 12-17 age group in all 15 countries showed the highest cumulative incidence proportion in children. Adults had a higher case incidence per 100,000 people than children. ConclusionThe cases and deaths within the children's population were smaller than the adult population. These differences may reflect biases in COVID-19 testing protocols and reporting implemented by countries, highlighting the need for more extensive investigation and focus on the effects of COVID-19 in children.
Highlights
Few data on the COVID-19 epidemiological characteristics among the pediatric population in Africa exists
Since very little data has been published about the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 among the pediatric population in Africa, this paper aims to describe the morbidity and mortality in children in the African region
Since each country had different index case dates, we restricted the timeframe of the cases to include confirmed, real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) COVID-19 positive cases for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosed between 1 April 2020 and 1 September 2020
Summary
Few data on the COVID-19 epidemiological characteristics among the pediatric population in Africa exists. Conclusion: The cases and deaths within the children’s population were smaller than the adult population. These differences may reflect biases in COVID-19 testing protocols and reporting implemented by countries, highlighting the need for more extensive investigation and focus on the effects of COVID-19 in children. When comparing the proportion of deaths and mortality rate of children against adults, the adult population experienced higher numbers globally. This phenomenon could be explained by differences in gene expression and comorbidities (Balasubramanian et al, 2020, Felsenstein and Hedrich, 2020, Hedrich, 2020)
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