AFRICA to date does not have any confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (n-CoV), Africa’s Regional Office for the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
By Kudakwashe Pembere
The World Health Organisation’s Africa emergency response program manager Michel Yao advised health ministers in the region to activate standard flu screening at airports for passengers coming from mainland China.
“There are currently no confirmed cases of #coronavirus in #Africa, but WHO recommends taking preventive actions while traveling. Avoid unprotected close contact with anyone developing cold or flu-like symptoms & seek care if you have a fever, cough & difficulty breathing,” WHO Africa Region Office said in a tweet.
WHO Africa Regional Director Dr Matshidiso Moeti tweeted, “@WHOAFRO is working with countries in #Africa to strengthen #surveillance and capacity to rapidly detect the new #coronavirus (2019-nCoV). There are currently no confirmed cases, but the quicker countries can detect cases, the faster they will be able to contain an outbreak.”
There is a considerable community of students in China from African countries, and a number of them have expressed their desire to return home as authorities struggle to contain the virus. Other countries across the world are considering the option of evacuating their citizens.
Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda among other countries have started implementing surveillance and screening at airports, especially for travelers arriving from Wuhan in China where the outbreak began in December.
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that range from the common cold to MERS coronavirus, which is Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus and SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus.
Kenya today rushed suspected case to hospital
Kenya Airways on Tuesday confirmed that one of its passengers who had travelled from the Chinese city of Wuhan to Nairobi had presented coronavirus-like symptoms and was rushed to hospital on arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
‘‘Kenya Airways confirms that a passenger who travelled on our flight KQ886 from Guangzhou to Nairobi on 28 January 2020 has, as a precautionary measure, been quarantined at the Kenyatta National Hospital,” KQ said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Surveillance and screening on the novel coronavirus is being enhanced across Africa as reports of the existence of the virus on the continent remain yet unconfirmed, a senior African Union (AU) official said Tuesday.
Diseases Control and Prevention director John Nkengasong told reporters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa that “rumors” would likely circulate around suspected coronavirus cases, without rejecting the risk of Africa importing the virus given the continent’s strong links with China.
Concerns have mounted after reports emerged on a suspected coronavirus case in Ivory Coast on Monday.
“It is very possible that we have cases [of coronavirus], but not recognized,” Nkengasong said at the AU headquarters.
“We have to admit there [may be] certain cases we don’t know [of],” he said, adding that the effectiveness of each country’s surveillance system varied across the continent.
The coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan city of China’s central province of Hubei.
John Nkengasong said the latest reports showed there were some 4,474 confirmed cases of the virus globally of which 4,409 were in China.
Some 107 victims have died due to the virus, while 63 have reportedly recovered, he added.
“We have no suspected case reported [in Africa], though there are rumors,” Nkengasong said.
He commended China for what he described as an impressive and positive effort to contain the virus and for being “forthcoming in reporting figures.”
Airports across Africa have begun additional screening procedures for passengers, with many carriers, making multiple flights to China daily.
Tens of cases have been reported in Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Thailand, the U.S., Singapore, France, Malaysia, Australia and Vietnam.
