Your browser doesn't support javascript.
The first 8 months of COVID-19 pandemic in three West African countries: leveraging lessons learned from responses to the 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak.
Impouma, Benido; Williams, George Sie; Moussana, Fleury; Mboussou, Franck; Farham, Bridget; Wolfe, Caitlin M; Okot, Charles; Downing, Katrina; Tores, Claudia Codeço; Flahault, Antoine; Pervilhac, Cyril; Ki-Zerbo, Georges; Clement, Peter; Shongwe, Steven; Keiser, Olivia; Fall, Ibrahima Socé.
  • Impouma B; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
  • Williams GS; Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Moussana F; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
  • Mboussou F; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
  • Farham B; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
  • Wolfe CM; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
  • Okot C; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
  • Downing K; College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
  • Tores CC; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
  • Flahault A; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
  • Pervilhac C; Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
  • Ki-Zerbo G; Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Clement P; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
  • Shongwe S; World Health Organization Guinea Country Office, Conakry, Guinea.
  • Keiser O; World Health Organization Liberia Country Office, Monrovia, Liberia.
  • Fall IS; World Health Organization Sierra Leone Country Office, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Epidemiol Infect ; 149: e258, 2021 09 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1586098
ABSTRACT
Experience gained from responding to major outbreaks may have influenced the early coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response in several countries across Africa. We retrospectively assessed whether Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three West African countries at the epicentre of the 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak, leveraged the lessons learned in responding to COVID-19 following the World Health Organization's (WHO) declaration of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). We found relatively lower incidence rates across the three countries compared to many parts of the globe. Time to case reporting and laboratory confirmation also varied, with Guinea and Liberia reporting significant delays compared to Sierra Leone. Most of the selected readiness measures were instituted before confirmation of the first case and response measures were initiated rapidly after the outbreak confirmation. We conclude that the rapid readiness and response measures instituted by the three countries can be attributed to their lessons learned from the devastating Ebola outbreak, although persistent health systems weaknesses and the unique nature of COVID-19 continue to challenge control efforts.
Subject(s)
Keywords

Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Ebolavirus / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Humans Country/Region as subject: Africa Language: English Journal: Epidemiol Infect Journal subject: Communicable Diseases / Epidemiology Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S0950268821002053

Similar

MEDLINE

...
LILACS

LIS


Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Ebolavirus / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Humans Country/Region as subject: Africa Language: English Journal: Epidemiol Infect Journal subject: Communicable Diseases / Epidemiology Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S0950268821002053