The dampened course of COVID-19 in Africa might reveal innovative solutions

By Moustapha Mbow1, Bertrand Lell2,3, Simon P. Jochems4, Badara Cisse5, Souleymane Mboup6, Benjamin G. Dewals7, Assan Jaye8, Alioune Dieye1, Maria Yazdanbakhsh4

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly and extensively to most countries in the world, resulting in considerable mortality in Europe and the United States, as well as in numerous upper-middle-income countries in South America and Asia. Experts pre- dicted millions of COVID-19 deaths in Africa because many countries in the continent rank poorly on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index. However, more than 4 months after the first cases in Africa were detected, prevalence and mortality are still low. It remains unclear if Africa is really spared from substantial cases and deaths. However, differences between Africa and the most affected countries in re- liable reporting and death registration, lock- down stringency, demography, sociocultural aspects, environmental exposures, genetics, and the immune system could help to explain the experience of COVID-19 in Africa.

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