THE AFRICAN MIRACLE: why COVID-19 seems to spread slowly in Sub-Saharan Africa
Palavras-chave:
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Sub-Saharan AfricaResumo
A África Subsaariana tem alta prevalência de várias doenças infecciosas quando comparada com outras áreas, sobretudo por causa dos seus sistemas de saúde deficientes, pobreza e baixos níveis académicos, e o ambiente tropical que facilita a zoonose e disseminação de patógenos. Contudo, “miraculosamente”, COVID-19 não está a afectar a área tanto quanto se esperava em termos de incidência e severidade. O que está a acontecer? Este artigo pretende apresentar e discutir explicações plausíveis para o “milagre africano”. Talvez a doença não se esteja disseminar rapidamente na África Subsaariana como resultado dos seguintes factores: (1) chegada tardia, depois da publicação de várias directrizes da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), incluindo o Plano Estratégico para Preparação e Resposta, (2) baixa taxa relativa de migração, especialmente internacional, (3) baixa densidade populacional, com a maioria da população em áreas rurais, (4) experiência na gestão de doenças infecciosas mortais, (5) resposta bem coordenada, de acordo com as directrizes da OMS, (6) predominância de populações mais jovens, (7) imunidade cruzada resultante da alta prevalência de outras doenças infecciosas e programas nacionais de vacinação, e (8) altas temperaturas e humidade, associadas à baixa prevalência de COVID-19. É prematuro assumir-se que COVID-19 afectará severamente a África Subsaariana simplesmente como função dos sistemas de saúde precários ou da pobreza.
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