A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa

The progression of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous and the full impact is not yet well understood. Here, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations, predominantly from Europe, which diminished following the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1 and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind-spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a breeding ground for new variants.

Cardiac tamponade: an uncommon presenting feature of systemic lupus erythematosus (a case-based review).

Although pericarditis is the most prevalent cardiac involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), cardiac tamponade is extremely infrequent notably as the first manifestation of the disease. Here we report the case of a 22-year-old woman presenting with cardiac tamponade as the initial presentation of SLE.

Gastric sarcoidosis: Rare revealing feature of systemic sarcoidosis.

Gastric sarcoidosis is clinically manifest in less than 1% of patients with systemic disease. Stomach is the most commonly involved site. Clinical signs are non-specific. We report the case of a female patient presenting with abdominal pain with no associated symptoms. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed mucosal erosions. Biopsy and histological study revealed the presence of a gastric non-caseating granuloma. No other involvement was found and infectious granulomatosis was ruled out. Patient was treated with corticosteroids with substantial improvement. One year later, the patient presented with respiratory symptoms and joint pain. Chest computed tomography showed multiple mediastinal and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathies. It also highlighted the presence of interstitial lung disease and a 1 cm pulmonary nodule. Histological examination of this nodule revealed non-caseating granuloma. Serum angiotensin converting enzyme level was elevated. Lymphocytic alveolitis was diagnosed with bronchoalveolar lavage. Systemic sarcoidosis with gastric involvement was suggested. Patient was treated with corticosteroids and developed a favourable clinical course. Isolated gastric sarcoidosis is a challenging diagnosis. Histological findings are the key to diagnosis. Other granulomatous diseases need to be excluded especially infectious diseases before establishing the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Corticosteroids are used in treating gastric sarcoidosis, yet no guidelines exist for the treatment of this rare condition.

A Rare Cause of Lobular Panniculitis: Munchausen's Syndrome.

We describe a case of a 40-year-old woman who presented with ecchymoses of the right leg and who was found to have lobular panniculitis in biopsy due to Munchausen's Syndrome.