Omo-Aghoja Lawrence, Moke Emuesiri Goodies, Anachuna Kenneth Kelechi, Omogbiya Adrian Itivere, Umukoro Emuesiri Kohworho, Toloyai Pere-Ebi Yabrade, Daubry Tarela Melish Elias, Eduviere Anthony Taghogho
DELSU Biomedical Research Alliance Working Group, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.
Beni Suef Univ J Basic Appl Sci. 2021;10(1):16. doi: 10.1186/s43088-021-00106-x. Epub 2021 Mar 17.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory infection which has afflicted virtually almost all nations of the earth. It is highly transmissible and represents one of the most serious pandemics in recent times, with the capacity to overwhelm any healthcare system and cause morbidity and fatality.
The diagnosis of this disease is daunting and challenging as it is dependent on emerging clinical symptomatology that continues to increase and change very rapidly. The definitive test is the very expensive and scarce polymerase chain reaction (PCR) viral identification technique. The management has remained largely supportive and empirical, as there are no officially approved therapeutic agents, vaccines or antiviral medications for the management of the disease. Severe cases often require intensive care facilities and personnel. Yet there is paucity of facilities including the personnel required for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It is against this backdrop that a review of key published reports on the pandemic in SSA and globally is made, as understanding the natural history of a disease and the documented responses to diagnosis and management is usually a key public health strategy for designing and improving as appropriate, relevant interventions. Lead findings were that responses by most nations of SSA were adhoc, paucity of public health awareness strategies and absence of legislations that would help enforce preventive measures, as well as limited facilities (including personal protective equipment) and institutional capacities to deliver needed interventions.
COVID-19 is real and has overwhelmed global health care system especially low-income countries of the sub-Sahara such as Nigeria. Suggestions for improvement of healthcare policies and programs to contain the current pandemic and to respond more optimally in case of future pandemics are made herein.
冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是一种严重的急性呼吸道感染疾病，几乎影响了地球上所有国家。它具有高度传染性，是近年来最严重的大流行病之一，有能力压垮任何医疗系统并导致发病和死亡。
该疾病的诊断既艰巨又具有挑战性，因为它依赖于不断增加且变化迅速的新出现的临床症状。确诊测试是非常昂贵且稀缺的聚合酶链反应（PCR）病毒鉴定技术。由于没有官方批准的治疗药物、疫苗或抗病毒药物来治疗该疾病，治疗方法在很大程度上仍为支持性和经验性的。重症病例通常需要重症监护设施和人员。然而，撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）缺乏包括诊断和治疗COVID-19所需的人员在内的设施。正是在这样的背景下，对撒哈拉以南非洲和全球有关该大流行病的关键已发表报告进行了综述，因为了解疾病的自然史以及对诊断和治疗的记录反应通常是设计和适当改进相关干预措施的关键公共卫生战略。主要发现是，撒哈拉以南非洲大多数国家的应对措施是临时的，缺乏公共卫生意识战略，没有有助于执行预防措施的立法，以及提供所需干预措施的设施（包括个人防护装备）和机构能力有限。
COVID-19是真实存在的，已经压垮了全球医疗系统，尤其是撒哈拉以南的低收入国家，如尼日利亚。本文提出了改进医疗政策和计划的建议，以控制当前的大流行病，并在未来发生大流行病时做出更优化的应对。
