Approaching COVID-19 with epidemiological genomic surveillance and the sustainability of biodiversity informatics in Africa
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Date
2022
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Wiley
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Abstract
COVID‐19 is an acute respiratory illness caused by Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome‐Coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). The first case was reported in Africa on
February 14, 2020 and has surged to 11 million as of July 2022, with 43% and 30%
of cases in Southern and Northern Africa. Current epidemiological data demonstrate
heterogeneity in transmission and patient outcomes in Africa. However, the burden
of infectious diseases such as malaria creates a significant burden on public health
resources that are dedicated to COVID‐19 surveillance, testing, and vaccination
access. Several control measures, such as the SHEF2 model, encompassed Africa's
most effective preventive measure. With the help of international collaborations and
partnerships, Africa's pandemic preparedness employs effective risk‐management
strategies to monitor patients at home and build the financial capacity and human
resources needed to combat COVID‐19 transmission. However, the lack of safe
sanitation and inaccessible drinking water, coupled with the financial consequences
of lockdowns, makes it challenging to prevent the transmission and contraction of
COVID‐19. The overwhelming burden on contact tracers due to an already strained
healthcare system will hurt epidemiological tracing and swift counter‐measures.
With the rise in variants, African countries must adopt genomic surveillance and
prioritize funding for biodiversity informatics.
Keywords
Africa, biodiversity, bioinformatics, COVID variants, COVID‐19 pandemic, genomic surveillance, phylogenetics, SARS‐CoV‐2 infection
Citation
Aborode, AT, Huang, H, Wireko, A, et al. Approaching COVID-19 with epidemiological genomic surveillance and the sustainability of biodiversity informatics in Africa. J Med Virol. 2022; 95:e28308. doi:10.1002/jmv.28308.