*1Aiyenuro, A. E., 2Onyeani, C. O., and 2Uche, N. C.
1Team Lead and Research Analyst, Research4Knowledge, Lagos, Nigeria
1Network officer, Loving Gaze IO, SHOPS Plus Tuberculosis USAID Project
2Department of Medical Laboratory Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
3Quality Assurance Officer, Loving Gaze IO, SHOPS Plus Tuberculosis USAID Project
*Correspondence to: aiyenuroademola@gmail.com; +2348138642956
Abstract:
The Ebola virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission via direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials contaminated with these fluids. In December 2019, a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-COV-2) emerged in Wuhan, China, attracting the notice of regional authorities and rapidly drawing global attention. In less than 4 months, COVID-19 spread through almost all countries and regions. The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the world economy, in addition to creating the current global public health crisis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 28,616 cases of Ebola were detected, and 11,310 people died during the outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. As of 17th December 2020, COVID-19 has killed 1,658,062 people, and positive cases have topped 74 million globally. Africa has suffered several outbreaks of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD); learning from the past is a good way to prepare for the future. We hope to highlight some of the lessons learnt from Africa’s response to previous epidemics that can help in the fight against the ravaging coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading “Applying lessons learnt from Ebola for effective COVID-19 response in Africa”