On November 11, 2021, four overseas travelers Botswana was COVID-19 positive, Almost four days after they arrived. For each protocol, virus samples were genetically sequenced. This is when scientists discover a mutant they have never seen before. Now known as Omicron.
At about the same time in November South Africa In Gauteng, where Johannesburg is located, less than 1 percent of the population tested positive for COVID-19.A few weeks later, COVID-19 cases It soared. Scientists then sequenced several positive cases and found that Omicron became the predominant strain of Houten within two weeks shortly after the region was devastated by the delta mutant.Omicron now has Rapidly spread all over the world The cause behind the surge, blockages and increased hospitalizations.According to the data Analyzed by The New York Times, The United States, France, India, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Germany and the United Kingdom are currently the countries with the highest average daily cases thanks to Omicron.
In South Africa Previously reported salonThe number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa declined sharply almost a month after the surge. However, according to the data map, Omicron did not appear to spread to other parts of Africa like sub-Saharan Africa. In December, Uganda identified the first case of Omicron, but national data show that only 4.1% of the country was vaccinated, with an average of 302 cases per day. Similarly, in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, low spreads appear to be occurring in all countries with very low vaccination rates. Did sub-Saharan African countries dodge Omicron? If so, how?
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, infection patterns across the continent have not followed the same patterns as elsewhere in the world. In August 2020, less than a year after the pandemic, scientists struggled to figure out why cases and mortality were so low in sub-Saharan Africa. One theory points out that age is inversely correlated with COVID-19 mortality, revealing the relative youth of the population in many countries.Another theory Published in Science Magazine The African population generally had previous exposure to the associated coronavirus that stimulated the population’s immune system against SARS-CoV-2.
However, almost a year and a half later, cases in sub-Saharan Africa remain low compared to the rest of the world (although Nigeria is a slight outlier among these countries). But now, scientists are not convinced that the reason is related to innate immunity or demographic conditions. Probably due to lack of inspection. In other words, it’s just not tested because of the large number of cases.
In other words, the emergence of low COVID cases in sub-Saharan Africa could be just a mirage.
“There are far fewer tests, [omicron] Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease doctor and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said: -The income country where the surge caused really bad things was hospitalization. In India, for example, not only did the idling test take place in early March, but basically we started seeing people coming to the hospital and then surged. Their test. “
Gandhi said the incident is generally not a good indicator of what is happening in sub-Saharan Africa.
“In sub-Saharan Africa, if hospitalizations aren’t increasing, we’re not just testing in a low-income environment,” Gandhi said, adding that the reason could be funding. “What I think is happening in sub-Saharan Africa is that they are passing through Omicron, but it’s milder. Perhaps they have enough herd immunity and haven’t tested that much. Hmm.”
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surely, Nature As reported in March 2021, it is difficult to grasp the situation in sub-Saharan Africa. This is partly due to the cost of testing. In general, test levels are generally lower in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The cost of the COVID-19 test may seem minimal to middle- and high-income countries, but poor countries cannot afford to test a large number of people,” said Villyen Motaze of Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa. I told Nature.
Motaze et al. Published a study showing that climatic factors such as temperature and humidity have little effect on epidemic peaks. It goes against the theory that climate is associated with the emergence of a small number of cases in sub-Saharan Africa.
“This idea should be abandoned,” said Fidisoa Rasan Binarybo, another author of the paper. “Modeling work clearly shows that climate does not constitute the protective factor we wanted.”
Scientists sought vaccine equity and access to care.
“Following many of the changes in risk factors revealed in our article, vaccination coverage and protection are likely to be heterogeneous both inside and outside the country,” Rasambainarivo said. “Scientists need to work with authorities to minimize these differences because they affect the global pandemic.”
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