Impact of COVID -19 on population health and economic wellbeing in Ethiopia: A national pilot survey

Introduction: The COVD-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented global health and economic crisis, particu-larly in countries struggling with poverty. We conducted a national survey to understand the economic and health impacts of COVID-19 in Ethiopia. Methods: A pilot, population-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults randomly selected from the Ethio Telecom list of mobile phone numbers. Participants underwent a comprehensive phone interview about the impact of COVID-19 on their economic well-being and the health-related risks associated with COVID-19. Results: Of 4,180 calls attempted, 1194 were answered, of which a successful interview was made with 614 par-ticipants. COVID-19 affected the family income of 343 [55.9%] participants, 56 [9.1%] lost their job, 105 [17.1%] perceived high stress in their household, and 7 [1.14%] reported death in their family in the past month. The odds of having a decreased income due to COVID-19 were 2.4 times higher among self-employed [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.4, 95% CI (1.58-3.77)] and 2.8 times higher among unemployed [AOR 2.8, 95% CI (1.35-5.85)] participants. Two-hundred twenty-one [36%] participants had comorbidity in their household with hypertension, 72 [11.7%], diabetes,50 [8.1%], asthma, 48 [7.8%], and other chronic diseases, 51 [8.4%]. Forty-six [7.5%] participants had COVID-like symptoms in the previous month, where cough, headache, and fatigue were the most com-mon.

Clinical and socio-demographic profile of the first 33 COVID-19 cases treated at dedicated treatment center in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND:Severe respiratory tract infection caused by family of Corona viruses has become world pandemic. The purpose of this study was to describe the first few COVID 19 cases in Ethiopia. METHOD: Descriptive study was conducted on the first 33 consecutive RT-PCR confirmed COVID 19 cases diagnosed and managed at Ekka-Kotebe COVID Treatment Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. RESULT: The median age of the cases was 36 years. Cough, headache and fever were the most frequent symptoms. Diarrhea, sore throats, loss of taste and/or smell sensation were among the rare symptoms. Most (84.8%) had mild to moderate disease, and 15.2%(n=5) were critical at the time of admission. Among the five ICU admissions, four patients required invasive mechanical ventilation. Thirty cases were discharged after two pairs of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal samples turned negative for SARS CoV2. Three cases from the ICU died while on mechanical ventilator. The age of the two deaths was 65 years, and one was 60 years. With the exception of three, all cases were either imported from abroad or had contact with confirmed cases. CONCLUSION: Most of our patients were in the younger age group with male predominance and few with comorbidities. Cough was the commonest symptom followed by headache and fever. As it was in the early stage of the pandemic, observation of more cases in the future will reveal further clinical and demographic profiles of COVID-19 cases in Ethiopia