Important data on COVID-19 profile in Africa (AIDCO )

In Africa where 89% of the Member States of the WHO African Region are affected, as of 1 April 2020, a total of 3,766 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 95 deaths were reported. However, there is little data regarding how the infection is spreading and leading to morbidity and mortality. As we are at the very start of the epidemic, it is not clear whether Africa with its relatively young population and lower obesity and type-2-diabetes, will be affected less severely. On the other hand, the weak health system in Africa, and the high density of the population in urban centres as well as poor hygiene and malnutrition could present a time bomb with disastrous consequences. The immune system of people living in rural areas of LMIC is very different from those living in urban centres. Within urban centres the immune system is highly variable between populations of high and low socioeconomic status indicating that in addition to genetic factors, environmental exposures strongly determine immunological reactivity to incoming insults. This can have consequences not only for clinical outcomes but also for the spread of a virus. Therefore, our key question is : is COVID-19 different in Africa and if so, why? We aim to address this by using uniform tools and methods to gather data and samples from West, Middle and East Africa.

• Observational longitudinal cohort study to evaluate the clinical course of COVID-19. Hospitalized patients will be followed in three urban settings in West (Dakar, Senegal), Central (Libreville, Gabon) and East (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) Africa.

Outcomes

• Clinical course of COVID19 in patients of African origin
• Local transmission data within households of admitted COVID19 patients
• Longitudinal data on semiquantitative virus detection in respiratory and other specimens of COVID-19 patients.
• Inflammatory markers in circulation
• Disease severity and other characteristics in three different urban settings in Africa
• Characteristics associated with symptomatic and asymptomatic infections
• Data on COVID19 knowledge, attitude and practice
   

EDCTP Grants

Measurement of Transmission
Surveillance

Oct 2020 — Jul 2021

$1.29M

Ethiopia
Gabon
Senegal

Clinical Epidemiology of COVID-19 in Malaria Settings