Intense and Mild First Epidemic Wave of Coronavirus Disease, The Gambia.
;
Babatunde Awokola ;
Mustapha Bittaye;
Abdoulie Bojang;
Kalifa Bojang ;
Helen Brotherton ;
Carla Cerami ;
+37 more...
Ed Clarke ;
Umberto D'Alessandro ;
Thushan de Silva;
Mariama Drammeh;
Karen Forrest ;
Natalie Hofmann;
Sherifo Jagne;
Hawanatu Jah;
Sheikh Jarju;
Assan Jaye;
Modou Jobe ;
Beate Kampmann ;
Buba Manjang;
Melisa Martinez-Alvarez ;
Nuredin Mohammed ;
Behzad Nadjm;
Mamadou Ousmane Ndiath;
Esin Nkereuwem ;
Davis Nwakanma;
Francis Oko;
Emmanuel Okoh;
Uduak Okomo ;
Yekini Olatunji;
Eniyou Oriero ;
Andrew M Prentice ;
Charles Roberts;
Anna Roca ;
Babanding Sabally;
Sana Sambou;
Ahmadou Samateh;
Ousman Secka;
Abdul Karim Sesay;
Yankuba Singhateh;
Bubacarr Susso;
Effua Usuf ;
Aminata Vilane;
Oghenebrume Wariri ;
(2021)
Intense and Mild First Epidemic Wave of Coronavirus Disease, The Gambia.
Emerging infectious diseases, 27 (8).
pp. 2064-2072.
ISSN 1080-6040
DOI: 10.3201/eid2708.204954
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is evolving differently in Africa than in other regions. Africa has lower SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates and milder clinical manifestations. Detailed SARS-CoV-2 epidemiologic data are needed in Africa. We used publicly available data to calculate SARS-CoV-2 infections per 1,000 persons in The Gambia. We evaluated transmission rates among 1,366 employees of the Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia (MRCG), where systematic surveillance of symptomatic cases and contact tracing were implemented. By September 30, 2020, The Gambia had identified 3,579 SARS-CoV-2 cases, including 115 deaths; 67% of cases were identified in August. Among infections, MRCG staff accounted for 191 cases; all were asymptomatic or mild. The cumulative incidence rate among nonclinical MRCG staff was 124 infections/1,000 persons, which is >80-fold higher than estimates of diagnosed cases among the population. Systematic surveillance and seroepidemiologic surveys are needed to clarify the extent of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Africa.
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