ABSTRACT
Introduction: COVID-19 can alter many systems, including causing crucial hematological and biochemical changes in patients. COVID-19 survivors report persistent symptoms after discharge from hospital. No studies in Senegal are available on this stage of recovery. The aim of our study was to evaluate biological parameters in patients cured of COVID-19. Method(s): A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1 to July 31, 2021. Patients cured of COVID-19 after infection confirmed by real-time PCR for SARS-CoV-2 were recruited. The time from hospital discharge to the start of our study ranged from 1 to 14 months. The study included a questionnaire and a clinical examination followed by blood and urine sampling. Result(s): Fifty patients cured of SARS-CoV2 were recruited with a sex ratio of 1.63. The mean age was 49.74 +/- 12.35 years. The majority of patients had presented a moderate symptomatic form (76%). Only ten patients (20%) were placed on oxygen therapy. The most common hematologic abnormalities were hyperlymphocytosis (52%), hyperbasophilia (48%), and neutropenia (42%). Anemia and leukopenia were found in 8% and 2% of patients respectively. The most frequent biochemical abnormalities were a decrease in HDL-cholesterol (40%), an increase in LDL-cholesterol (32%), a high atherogenicity index (36%) and an increase in d-dimer (3%). An increase in the proteinuria/creatinine ratio was observed in 24% of patients. Conclusion(s): Biological changes were observed in patients cured of COVID-19 due to viral infection and medical treatment. Knowledge of the biological profiles of COVID-19 would help advance infection control strategies.
ABSTRACT
Objective: to analyse the pandemic after one year in terms of the evolution of morbidity and mortality and factors that may contribute to this evolution Design: This is a secondary analysis of data gathered to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of cases, incidence rate, cumulative incidence rate, number of deaths, case fatality rate and their trends were analysed during the first year of the pandemic. Testing and other public health measures were also described according to the infor-mation available. Settings: The 15 States members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were considered. Results: As of 31st March 2021, the ECOWAS region reported 429,760 COVID-19 cases and 5,620 deaths. In the first year, 1,110.75 persons were infected per million, while 1.31% of the confirmed patients died. The ECOWAS region represents 30% of the African population. One year after the start of COVID-19 in ECOWAS, this region reported 10% of the cases and 10% of the deaths in the continent. Cumulatively, the region has had two major epidemic waves;however, countries show different patterns. The case fatality rate presented a fast growth in the first months and then decreased to a plateau. Conclusion: We learn that the context of COVID-19 is specific to each country. This analysis shows the importance of better understanding each country's response. During this first year of the pandemic, the problem of variants of concern and the vaccination were not posed. © 2022 Ghana Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
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This paper provides an early assessment of the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and of subsequent response measures on milk production, collection, processing, marketing and consumption in Africa. The researchers focus on the period surrounding the first wave of the outbreak (from February to June 2020), during which the number of cases surged and many steps were taken to curb the epidemic. The paper is based on reports from four countries covered by the Africa-Milk Research Project: Burkina Faso, Kenya, Madagascar and Senegal. Data was collected primarily from nine dairy processors located in those countries. Major conclusions of the study are: (1) Dairy farmers were negatively affected by COVID-19 measures when the health crisis coincided with the peak of the milk production season, and when governments did not take steps to support milk production. (2) Small and informal milk collectors were also affected by traffic restrictions as they could not obtain traffic permits. (3) Milk powder importation remained unaffected during the outbreak. (4) Dairy processors (particularly small ones) faced many challenges restricting their operation. Travel restrictions led to temporary interruptions of milk supply, and because of employee protection and safety measures, processing costs increased. (5) Many small retailers were affected by bans on public transport and reduced their purchases of artisanal dairy products;meanwhile, spoilage of dairy products increased during long curfews coupled with poor storage conditions. Supermarkets were able to increase their market share during the pandemic thanks to their connections with industrial dairy processors and wholesalers. (6) A majority of consumers decreased their consumption of dairy products due to a decrease of purchasing power. In some cases, an increase in consumption occurred (due to Ramadan month and dry season high temperatures) and consumption shifted towards long-life dairy products. (7) Overall, the consequences of the health crisis affected more small and informal dairy supply chains than the larger ones, which are more formal, better organised and finally more resilient to face this kind of global crisis.
ABSTRACT
The new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is the main global health crisis of our time and the greatest threat we have faced in this century. According to the National Health Security Agency (ANSS), which is the national body responsible for managing epidemics and pandemics, 1927 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed, 11 deaths with more than 4000 contact subjects. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the activities of the cardiology department of the Ignace Deen National Hospital at the Conakry University Hospital. This was a descriptive retrospective study from January 2020 to April 2020, focusing on consultation and hospitalisation activities in the cardiology department of Ignace Deen National Hospital at Conakry University Hospital. The study consisted of assessing the impact of the pandemic on patient use of the service during the first weeks of the pandemic. We recorded the frequency of consultations and hospitalisations from March to April 2020, which we compared to the frequency of consultations and hospitalisations in January and February 2020. During this study from March to April 2020, we identified 130 patients in consultation against 450 patients for the two months preceding the official declaration of the pandemic in Guinea, a drop of 71.1% (320 patients). The same remark was made in hospitalisation with a drop of 75% (35 patients against 140 for the two months preceding the pandemic). At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea, it is clear that there has been a rapid and significant drop in the effective use of the cardiology service.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Cardiology/organization & administration , Hospital Departments/organization & administration , Hospitals, University/organization & administration , Guinea , Humans , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
The main objective of this study was to focus on the microbiological aspects of acute respiratory infections (ARI) in children in Senegalese hospitals. The hospital frequency of acute respiratory infections in children was 3.7%. The average age was 23.7 months with extremes between 1 month and 144 months. Peaks of consultations were found in August, March and April with 22%, 15.6%, and 12.8% respectively. Fever, respiratory distress and pulmonary condensation syndrome were the main signs found on examination in our patients. Bacteriology was positive in 82.6% of the samples and the most frequently found bacteria were: Streptococcus pneumoniae in 38.5%, Haemophilus influenza b in 32.1% and Moraxella catarrhalis in 25.7%. Virological tests were positive in 80.7%. The viruses most frequently found in the samples were Rhinovirus in 33% of the samples, Human respiratory syncytial virus in 24.8% and coronavirus in 15.6%. On mycological examination, only 4 samples out of 109 were positive, i.e. 3.7%. The only fungi found was Pneumocystis with its two serotypes Pneumocystis jirovecii and Pneumocystis pneumonia in equal proportions. Among the diagnoses retained, pneumonia was predominant and found in 61 of the cases, with a prevalence of 59.9%, followed by acute bronchiolitis with a prevalence of 16.51%. The average length of hospitalization was 10 days. Lethality was 1.8% or 2 cases. Acute respiratory infections in children still remain a public health problem in developing countries, with children under 5 years of age being the most affected, hence the need to strengthen programs to combat ARI.