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The COVID-19 vaccines provide a high degree of protection against severe disease, hospitalisation, and death. However, no vaccine claimed 100% effectiveness and it is expected that a small proportion of vaccinated individuals may develop a breakthrough infection due to individual differences, virus variants and other factors. We conducted an epidemiological investigation and analysis of an imported case who had finished four doses of vaccination, and in order to provide a relevant reference for regular epidemic prevention and control in the post-pandemic era.
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Background. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chad has had 7,417 confirmed cases and 193 deaths, one of the lowest in Africa. Objective. This study assessed SARS-CoV-2 immunity in N'Djamena. Methods. In August-October 2021, eleven N'Djamena hospitals collected outpatient data and samples. IgG antibodies against SARSCoV- 2 nucleocapsid protein were identified using ELISA. "Bambino Gesu" Laboratory, Rome, Italy, performed external quality control with chemiluminescence assay. Results. 25-34-year-old (35.2%) made up the largest age group at 31.9 12.6 years. 56.4% were women, 1.3 women/men. The 7th district had 22.5% and the 1st 22.3%. Housewives and students dominated. Overall seroprevalence was 69.5% (95% CI: 67.7-71.3), females 68.2% (65.8-70.5) and males 71.2% (68.6-73.8). >44-year-old had 73.9% seroprevalence. Under-15s were 57.4% positive. Housewives (70.9%), civil servants (71.5%), and health workers (9.7%) had the highest antibody positivity. N'Djamena's 9th district had 73.1% optimism and the 3rd district had 52.5%. Seroprevalences were highest at Good Samaritan Hospital (75.4%) and National General Referral Hospital (74.7%). Conclusion. Our findings indicate a high circulation of SARS-CoV- 2 in N'Djamena, despite low mortality and morbidity after the first two COVID-19 pandemic waves. This high seroprevalence must be considered in Chad's vaccine policy.
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Background: COVID-19's restrictive measures have significantly affected our health, work and social relationships. As yet, less attention has been given to the changes in sex life. Aim: This study investigates people's satisfaction with sex life in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Methods: A cross-sectional survey of the general population (18 years and over) was conducted, from 1st to 18th July 2020, in 17 municipalities in Kinshasa and several measures were used: Quality of life MANSA, EQ-5D-3L, UCLA Loneliness;PHQ-9;GAD-7. Prior to conducting data analysis, diagnostic tests for our data were performed to assess distribution, variance and multicollinearity. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis were used. Results: Sex life satisfaction increases from young adults aged 18- 35 to those aged 36-55 and then there is a decrease from ages 56-69. After controlling for socio-demographic factors, sex life satisfaction was positively associated with the number and quality of people's friendships (B=0.30, p=0.01) and people's relationships with their families (B=0.32, p=0.03). People who feel lonely have lower sex life satisfaction (B=-0.15, p=0.01). Conclusion: People's quality of their friendships and family relationships are important for their sexual well-being. Healthcare providers and policymakers should consider people's quality of friendships and family relationships when planning to improve the sexual well-being of people in DRC.
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Iron and zinc are important minerals in humans in sub Saharan Africa, whose deficiency is known as "hidden hunger" due to the lack of recognised symptoms in the early stages. Although iron deficiency is the most prevalent, zinc is also involved in inhibition of replication of viruses, including the corona virus (COVID-19). In North Kivu and South Kivu provinces where more than 50% of common bean is produced and consumed in Democratic Republic of Congo, 36% and 47% of preschool children are anemic due to iron deficiency. This paradox is mainly due to insufficiency of iron-rich foods. The aim of this study is to characterise 59 iron and zinc biofortified varieties together with six local varieties of common bean for a potential selection programme in Butembo town in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We focused on 15 qualitative and five quantitative parameters. The qualitative parameters were helpful to distinguish the different morphotypes and for cluster analysis. In addition to the descriptive statistics, the quantitative data were used for Pearson correlation and for principal component analysis, PCA. Qualitative parameters enabled grouping of the study genotypes into 14 morphotypes according to the aspect and colour of the seed coat, the colour around the hilum and the size of seeds. Clustering grouped the 65 genotypes into 12 clusters with the most similar genotypes grouped in the same cluster. Quantitative parameters showed that the study genotypes were dissimilar (P=0.00). A positive correlation was obtained between the days to flowering and the days to maturity (P<0.05) and between the number of pods per plant and the days to flowering. A strong correlation was found between the number of pods per plant and seeds per pod (P<0.01). In contrast, a negative correlation was observed between the 100 seed weight and the number of seeds per pod. The PCA represented on two perpendicular axes showed 64.1% of the total variance of which the 42.3% is explained by the first axis and 21.8% by the second axis. Overall, the study genotypes are morphologically and quantitatively different and thus can be used in a selection programme.
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On January 30, 2020, the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern and, in March 2020, began to characterize it as a pandemic in order to emphasize the gravity of the situation and urge all countries to take action in detecting infection and preventing spread. Unfortunately, there is no medication that has been approved by the FDA, gone through controlled studies and demonstrated an effect on the virus for this global pandemic. Although there are cures for illnesses and developments made by leaps and bounds in our day, the strongest and most effective weapon that society has against this virus is the prevention of its spread. The main points in preventing the spread in society are hand hygiene, social distancing, and quarantine. With increased testing capacity, detecting more COVID-19 positive patients in the community will also enable the reduction of secondary cases with stricter quarantine rules. Treatment with the use of plant extracts and vaccination are also control measures that are implemented in Cameroon. This review will focus on the prevention and control measures applied in Cameroon to combat the spread of the pandemic.
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In the last two years, Cameroon has faced five waves of COVID-19, with its fourth wave of the B.1.1.529 Omicron variant in December 2021 and subsequently hosted the African Cup of Nation of Football Men's competition that gathered thousands of people from across the world in January 2022 with no increase in the number of cases/deaths. A fifth wave of BA.4, and BA.5 Omicron variants was seen in August 2022. The country as claimed 123 785 cases, 121 633 recovered and 1960 death by 30th September 2022. Despite a low vaccination coverage of 8.7% the country has seen a limited impact of COVID-19 as compared to the international prediction. The response of Cameroon focused in limiting the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 in the population, reducing the morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 and limiting the socio economic impact of the COVID-19 in Cameroon. The contextualized Cameroonian response was based on an important epidemiologic surveillance relying on mass testing strategy and adaptative measure that ensure the continuity of the of planned mass gathering activities including hosting the African Cup of Nations of Football in the COVID-19 context and the continuity of education. While the COVID-19 has shown some weakness in the health system it has been an opportunity to show its resilience and the opportunity for strengthening the health system including the implementation of a genomic surveillance platform. The lessons learnt from COVID-19 including the importance of coordination through the Public Health Emergency Operating Centre will help the country to address the future public health emergencies and move toward cholera elimination by 2030.
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Background: The proportion of COVID-19 vaccination in Africa countries remains lower than other low and middle-income countries around the world. This rate is much lower in sub-Saharan Africa especially Cameroon. The low rate among these countries is attributed to vaccine hesitancy, mainly due to misinformation about vaccine origin, efficacy, and safety and the use of local herbs. Methods: From January to April 2022, we gathered latest experiences and opinions on four vaccine hesitancy-related areas, namely policies, perceived low risk, religious factors and use of local herbs in Cameroon in particular and some selected African countries in general;from published information in the literature. Results and recommended local solutions: The report mentions that political influences, religious beliefs and low perceived risk exists, vaccine safety and effectiveness and consumption of local herbs do contribute to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, collectively. Systematically monitoring the drivers of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, implementing tailored interventions promoting vaccine acceptance, and evaluating the impact of these interventions reduce vaccine hesitancy drastically.
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In the context of a developing country like Cameroon characterized by the scarcity of financial resources and the appearance of Covid-19, this article shows that this pandemic was not more important than the pre-existing health problems to the point of giving it more importance in funding compared to strengthening the health system. The theoretical elasticity model of the poverty rate to growth is used to estimate the impact of Covid-19 and the incidence of impoverishing health expenditure is used for the impact of common diseases. It is estimated through direct health payments that common diseases push about 340,865 people into extreme poverty annually. The Covid-19, through the loss of growth generated between 4.8 and 6.6 points according to the optimistic or pessimistic scenarios, would impoverish between 224,193 and 398,565 people: impact on the number of poor ranging from 0.7 to 1.2 times that of all common diseases, i.e., equivalent on average, but sensitive to the speed of spread of the virus and the duration of the crisis while the impact of common diseases is structural and linked to the poorly performing health system. The solutions proposed are endogenous and linked to the impact mechanisms.
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Oilseeds are grown mainly for the extraction of vegetable oils and for its by-products needed in livestock feed and in other industrial uses. The oils obtained from them are becoming a staple food used in daily cooking in several countries, and as a result the world demand is constantly increasing. This situation, combined with the exponential increase in the world population and other cyclical factors, is leading to a surge pricing, especially in importing countries. This increase in prices is fueled by soaring oil prices and disruption in supplies following Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea. Morocco is directly impacted by these fluctuations given that the country imports almost its total needs in vegetable oils, oilseeds and meals. The high dependence on imported vegetable oils and oilseed products has a detrimental effect on the economy of Morocco and weighs heavily on the country's trade balance. Considering their increasingly important role in society, the development of a local oilseed sector to reduce Morocco's dependence on imports and cope with the vagaries of global markets has never been more topical in the current context of sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty.
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This brief review, which was presented as an introduction to the CAS/IAP/NASCA Workshop on scientific evidence response to the COVID-19 in Cameroon and Africa, covers the classification of viruses based on the coding nucleic acid type, the structure of the genomes of corona viruses that have infected humans in the 21st century ie SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. It is recalled that SARS-CoV-2 has a genome size of 29.8 kb very similar to those of SARS-CoV (29.10 kb) and MERS-CoV (30.1kb). The functions of main proteins featuring on surface the SARS-COV-2, namely, spike (S), membrane (M) and the envelope (E) protein as well as the nucleocapsid (N) protein that is expressed in the core of the viral particle were described. An overview of the pathogenesis showed that the three viruses cause similar symptoms, the most severe of them being the severe respiratory syndrome that could lead to death. A deep understanding of the roles of the viral proteins has facilitated the development of diagnostic tests, vaccines and drugs to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The review also cites COVID-19 vaccines currently approved by the WHO as well as patent drugs in current usage and points out that none of these were developed in Africa, which is why local capacity has to be built to better combat the current and future pandemics.
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The COVID-19 outbreak which started in 2019 in China, turned out to be a deadly, infectious worldwide pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 affects the respiratory system, symptoms including cough, fever and shortness of breath. Upon infection, there is an uncontrolled release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome, and even death. The shutdown of economies during the outbreak made acquisition of nutritious foods difficult, exposing the world to malnutrition. This was worse in underdeveloped countries where there is poor hygiene and poor healthcare systems. A good and balanced nutrition strengthens the immune system, with fruits and vegetables enhancing the anti-inflammatory responses and regulating chronic diseases which are risk factors for COVID-19. In Cameroon, decoctions against COVID-19 made from medicinal plants and foods were widely used. This included 'star yellow', a sauce formulated and used for its role in the control of the transmission of SARSCOV-2. Star yellow contains a combination of palm oil and limestone, which exposes viral RNA to zinc attacks. It also possesses anti-viral and antioxidant properties which inactivates the viral particles in the gut thus stopping the possible transmission of the SARSCOV-2 virus via faeces.
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Facing the unprecedented burden and rapid spread of the Covid-19 pandemic across the globe, responses from various regions have been exceptionally quick. Drug discovery has been essentially based on repurposing, particularly at the onset of the scourge. Several experimental models have been designed ranging from in vitro cell culture systems to nonhuman primates;however, each with advantages and limitations. It was revealed beside its detrimental consequences on health, economy and the society, Covid-19 has also provided opportunity to highlight the immense potential of traditional medicine as a valid alternative for addressing major health threat. The African traditional medicine has been instrumental for the control of the COVID-19 pandemic in the continent, in situation of extremely low vaccination coverage. For optimal and sustainable use of traditional medicine, we strongly recommend products be developed following the WHO standards, while taking into consideration sustainability, environmental protection and copyright issues surrounding the natural product-based drug research and development.
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The taxonomic diversity and the richness of the region of Seraidi (North-East Algeria) in medicinal plants, as well as the appearance of diseases of viral origin, in particular, the current pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, led us to the realization of an ethnobotanical survey of plants with antiviral interests. The survey was conducted based on a pre-established quiz, with 120 people from different categories of the population of Seraidi, with the aim of listing the medicinal plants used in the treatment of viral diseases and collecting as much information as possible on this subject. After analyzing, the information provided by the people interviewed, we listed 32 species belonging to 20 families, of which the Lamiaceae family is the most represented. Older women are the most affected by the use of plants;people without a higher intellectual level have the most knowledge about the use of plants with antiviral interest. The leaf is the most widely used organ, in the form of a decoction or infusion, administered orally.
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Our study's objective was to retrospectively evaluate the pandemic Coronavirus Infection Disease first appeared in 2019 (COVID-19) in Algeria from July 2020 until February 2022 by studying the evolution and relationship between three variables: the number of new cases, the number of new deaths, and the number of cases hospitalized in intensive care. Data were obtained from "Our world in Data Organisation" (https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus) on 01 March 2022. They were proceeded by descriptive and multivariate analysis. The correlation between the three variables and the analysis of individual principal components (PCA) were conducted. The number of new cases shot up the month of January 2022 with 33685 cases, the peak number of cases in intensive care was recorded in July 2021 with 1261 cases whereas the number of new deaths reached its peak in the month of August 2021 with 1015 cases. A significant linear dependence has been identified between the number of new cases and the number of cases in intensive care (R2>0.5). The PCA analysis allowed us to distinguish the months of August 2020, November 2020, July 2021, August 2021, September 2021, and January 2022. They were characterized by high levels of new confirmed cases, new deaths and/or cases in intensive care. During the study period, the pandemic COVID-19 in Algeria passed by three waves characterized by peaks in the number of new cases and new deaths.
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State of the matterDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting bottlenecks in the French healthcare system, the management of patients with COVID-19 has been prioritized over that of patients with other pathologies, in particular chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the discovery stage of cancers diagnosed in an organized breast cancer screening program, as well as the impact on the time to supported. Material and methodsAll women aged 50 to 74 for whom cancer has been diagnosed in Cote d'Or as part of the national organized breast cancer screening program (first or second reading) from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020 have were included in this study. Using data from pathological anatomy laboratories, clinical centers, and the breast and gynecological cancer registry in Cote d'Or, France, we collected sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment data from all patients. We compared data from the year 2019 (pre-COVID) with that of the year 2020 (COVID). ResultsIn this study, we did not observe any change in the stage of discovery of the cancer at the time of diagnosis, nor any change in the therapeutic strategy. However, we observed a significant increase in infiltrated tumors, a decrease in in situ tumors, and the finding of larger clinical size of in situ tumors after the COVID pandemic. ConclusionWhile these results are reassuring, continued monitoring is needed to determine post-pandemic effects.
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Objective: The Covid-19 viral pneumonia epidemic represents a major public health issue for all hospital structures, including hospital pharmacy, which has an essential role in dealing with this crisis. This study aims to explore the level of stress perceived by hospital pharmacy staff during this pandemic. Method: This is a cross-sectional study that evaluated 82 health professionals in hospital pharmacies in Morocco, using a snowball sampling technique. It evaluated their socio-demographic characteristics, working conditions, perceived stress scale (PSS), emotions and concerns during the epidemic. Statistical analysis was performed using statistical package for social science (SPSS). Results: The majority of participants were women (74.4%) and hospital pharmacists (67%). More than half of the participants showed moderate levels of stress (73.2%). Among the variables examined, only protective measures and information about the situation via the superiors showed a significant association with the PSS value (P = 0.036) and the level of stress according to the ANOVA test and the Chi-2 test respectively. Conclusion: In this study, hospital pharmacy staff showed moderate levels of stress at the beginning of the Covid-19 epidemic. It should be noted that socio-demographic traits had no impact on stress. Consideration of social and health conditions and stress management would help reduce professional stress among hospital pharmacy staff during the pandemic.
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This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the PanbioTM Covid-19 Ag Rapid Test (Abbott) in a medical center in Ouagadougou. The PanbioTM COVID-19 Ag test was evaluated from January 26 to March 31, 2021 in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients in the medical Centre of Kossodo. A total of 268 individuals were tested by both SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR, and antigen RDT. Of these 268 individuals, 52 were positive and 216 were negative for COVID-19 RT-PCR. The performance parameters of the test and its Kappa agreement with the RT-PCR were calculated according to the presence or absence of symptoms in the patients on one hand, and according to the time onset of symptoms on the other hand. The sensitivity of the PanbioTM COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test ranged from 29.63% (95% CI: 13.75 to 50.18) among COVID-19 asymptomatic patients, to 87.5% (95% CI: 52.91 to97.76) among symptomatic patients with symptom onset time of 1-5 days. Similarly, the PanbioTM COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test specificity was 97.3% (95% CI: 90.58 to 99.67) and 96.4% (95% CI: 91.81 to 98.82) in symptomatic and asymptomatic RT PCR negative patients. The PanbioTM COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test shows good performance in detecting COVID-19 cases in patients with a symptom onset time of less than seven (7) days. This performance is even better when the symptom onset is reduced to five (5) days. The results show that the antigen RDT is not suitable for COVID-19 detection among asymptomatic patients.
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Objectives: A pandemic is a health disaster that can lead to the disruption of hospital's health care activities. The objective of this work is the presentation of a health emergency plan model applicable to the hospital pharmacy in times of crisis, and the description of the Moroccan National Institute of Oncology's pharmacy experience in fighting COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Establishment of a set of procedures for pharmaceutical organization as a part of a health emergency plan, the creation of a device whose endowment allows the rapid management of 25 simultaneous patient's health care, and a system for managing the risks of shortages. In addition, all the missions carried out by the pharmacy during the COVID-19 pandemic were presented and discussed. Results: Three medical endowment lists of essential therapeutic products were created, with a total of 125 references. The terms of supplies are defined by a procedure for deploying health emergency plan's pharmacy. An interhospital pharmaceutical inventory monitoring system was also put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: In time of crisis, supply systems are severely disrupted and shortages in therapeutic products are common. An emergency plan is an organization of multidisciplinary actions to deal with a health disasters in which the hospital pharmacy plays a decisive role.
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The effectiveness of food aid in reducing household food insecurity in developing countries has been extensively examined in previous studies. This study explores this issue in the context of COVID-19, using the example of emergency food aid provided by the Senegalese government. Field survey data were collected from 4500 recipients and non-recipients, and the matching method was used to examine whether there was a significant difference between the two groups. Several dimensions of food insecurity were explored through five indicators: the food consumption score and the coping strategies index from the World Food Programme and three indicators of simple, moderate and severe food insecurity based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale of the US Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The results show that government aid has a negative and significant impact on the diversity and nutritional value of beneficiary households' diets. Nevertheless, this programme prevented the use of extreme coping strategies. Furthermore, government aid has a positive impact on food security as measured by negative experiences related to food access. Ultimately, despite low nutritional intake, the programme had a positive effect on recipients' food access compared with non-beneficiaries. Therefore, for future interventions, the government should promote local and more nutritious products to sustainably improve food security.
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In this study, the mathematical SIR model (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (cured and deceased)) was applied to the case of Senegal during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, from March 1, 2020, to March 30, 2021, the transmission and recovery rates as well as the number of reproduction were calculated and analyzed for the impact of the decisions taken by the Senegalese government. In both waves, the variation of the basic reproduction number as a function of time, with values below one towards the end of each study period, confirms the success of the Senegalese government in controlling the epidemic. The results show that the solution of mandatory mask-wearing is the best decision to counter the spread of the disease. Indeed, the mean number of reproduction is 2.11 in the first wave, and the second wave has a lower mean value of 1.23, while the decisions are less restrictive during this latter wave. Also, a short-term prediction model (about 4 months) was validated on the second wave. The validation criteria of this model reveal a good match between the results of the simulated model and the COVID-19 data reported via the Ministry of Health, Solidarity, and Social Action of Senegal.