How Africa beat the rest of the world in fighting Covid-19...so far
Three months ago, Africa recorded its first case of coronavirus, sparking fears that the world's poorest and least-equipped continent faced a catastrophe.
But so far, the virus has not come anywhere close to wreaking the same damage in Africa as in Europe and the US - a phenomenon that has stirred much debate.
Experts sound a note of caution about the figures, saying the tally of infections in Africa, as elsewhere, could be under-represented by lack of testing.
If Africa seems so far to have been relatively spared, several explanations come to mind, say specialists.
One is that Africa, lying outside the main pathways of infection from China, used the precious weeks wisely and responded quickly when the virus eventually showed up.
"Confinement measures were taken quite early, and this slowed the curve. Most countries implemented these measures almost as soon as the first case was detected," Michel Yao, based in the Congolese capital of Brazzaville for the World Health Organization (WHO), told AFP.
"In France, it took 52 days after the first case for measures to be taken. In Ivory Coast, the schools and borders were closed five days after the first case. A week later, there was a curfew," said Jean-Marie Milleliri, an epidemiologist and specialist in tropical public health based in Abidjan.
Coronavirus deaths are typically concentrated among the elderly and people with underlying health conditions, said Omar Sarr, a professor of medicine at Dakar's Cheikh Anta Diop University.
Around 60 percent of Africa's population is under 25.
"The median age (in Africa) is around 19 years," said Milleliri. "Also, there are fewer elderly people because life expectancy is lower. So there are fewer cases and a virus that is less active."
Yap Boum II, an epidemiologist in Cameroon with the French medical charity MSF, also noted: "The population density in Africa is lower, which limits the spread of the virus, and Africans are less mobile compared with western populations."
Within African countries, "most cases are concentrated in the capital and large cities, and less in rural areas," Yao agreed.
Another theory is that people living in Africa may have a better resistance to the novel virus than in the developed world.
"There is crossover immunity, due to long exposure to various micro-organisms, and high vaccine coverage, notably with BCG," suggested Sarr, referring to a venerable anti-TB jab that intriguingly may be linked to protection against Covid-19.
Milleliri, more cautious, said, "There are lots of diseases in Africa, so populations are possibly better immunised than European populations against pathogens like coronavirus."
He pointed to Darwinian pressure as the potential reason: "When several pathogenic viruses are competing against each other, some can block out others."
A modelling study this month suggested the pandemic could infect 44 million people in Africa in its first year, causing between 83 000 and 190 000 deaths. - Nampa/AFP
But so far, the virus has not come anywhere close to wreaking the same damage in Africa as in Europe and the US - a phenomenon that has stirred much debate.
Experts sound a note of caution about the figures, saying the tally of infections in Africa, as elsewhere, could be under-represented by lack of testing.
If Africa seems so far to have been relatively spared, several explanations come to mind, say specialists.
One is that Africa, lying outside the main pathways of infection from China, used the precious weeks wisely and responded quickly when the virus eventually showed up.
"Confinement measures were taken quite early, and this slowed the curve. Most countries implemented these measures almost as soon as the first case was detected," Michel Yao, based in the Congolese capital of Brazzaville for the World Health Organization (WHO), told AFP.
"In France, it took 52 days after the first case for measures to be taken. In Ivory Coast, the schools and borders were closed five days after the first case. A week later, there was a curfew," said Jean-Marie Milleliri, an epidemiologist and specialist in tropical public health based in Abidjan.
Coronavirus deaths are typically concentrated among the elderly and people with underlying health conditions, said Omar Sarr, a professor of medicine at Dakar's Cheikh Anta Diop University.
Around 60 percent of Africa's population is under 25.
"The median age (in Africa) is around 19 years," said Milleliri. "Also, there are fewer elderly people because life expectancy is lower. So there are fewer cases and a virus that is less active."
Yap Boum II, an epidemiologist in Cameroon with the French medical charity MSF, also noted: "The population density in Africa is lower, which limits the spread of the virus, and Africans are less mobile compared with western populations."
Within African countries, "most cases are concentrated in the capital and large cities, and less in rural areas," Yao agreed.
Another theory is that people living in Africa may have a better resistance to the novel virus than in the developed world.
"There is crossover immunity, due to long exposure to various micro-organisms, and high vaccine coverage, notably with BCG," suggested Sarr, referring to a venerable anti-TB jab that intriguingly may be linked to protection against Covid-19.
Milleliri, more cautious, said, "There are lots of diseases in Africa, so populations are possibly better immunised than European populations against pathogens like coronavirus."
He pointed to Darwinian pressure as the potential reason: "When several pathogenic viruses are competing against each other, some can block out others."
A modelling study this month suggested the pandemic could infect 44 million people in Africa in its first year, causing between 83 000 and 190 000 deaths. - Nampa/AFP
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