Chair of Fluid Systems, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.
JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020 Sep 4;6(3):e19578. doi: 10.2196/19578.
According to the United Nations, about 1 billion persons live in so-called slums. Numerous studies have shown that this population is particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases. The current COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, emphatically underlines this problem. The often high-density living quarters coupled with a large number of persons per dwelling and the lack of adequate sanitation are reasons why measures to contain the pandemic only work to a limited extent in slums. Furthermore, assignment to risk groups for severe courses of COVID-19 caused by noncommunicable diseases (eg, cardiovascular diseases) is not possible due to inadequate data availability. Information on people living in slums and their health status is either unavailable or only exists for specific regions (eg, Nairobi). We argue that one of the greatest problems with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of slums in the Global South is the lack of data on the number of people, their living conditions, and their health status.
据联合国统计，全球约有 10 亿人生活在所谓的贫民窟中。大量研究表明，这部分人群特别容易感染传染病。当前由新型冠状病毒 SARS-CoV-2 引发的 COVID-19 大流行更是突出了这一问题。贫民窟中，居民往往居住密度较高，每个住所容纳的人数较多，且卫生设施不足，这也是大流行防控措施在贫民窟中只能有限实施的原因。此外，由于缺乏足够的数据，对于非传染性疾病（如心血管疾病）导致的 COVID-19 重症风险人群的划分也无法实现。有关生活在贫民窟中的人群及其健康状况的信息要么不存在，要么仅在特定地区（如内罗毕）存在。我们认为，在南部全球的贫民窟中，COVID-19 大流行所面临的最大问题之一是缺乏关于人口数量、生活条件和健康状况的数据。
