Acclaimed African Immunity or Resistance to Sars-Cov-2: Explore or Ignore?

Year 2021, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 141 - 144, 25.06.2020

Oluwanisola Onigbinde

https://doi.org/10.5455/umj.20210219111336

Abstract

Since late December 2019 to date, the world has continued in the fight against the recent most dreaded coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is ravaging the world. With the daily geometric increased in infected cases and death toll globally, it was predicted that Africa will suffer the most from the havoc of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This prediction could be traced to the dilapidated health care delivery systems, overcrowding, and the high rate of corruption in the continent. However, the claws of this virus seem to have spared the shores of Africa as the death toll in this continent is too low if compared with developed countries with state-of-the-earth facilities. This has led to Africans claim of immunity or resistance to SARS-CoV-2 and that the virus is a 'White man's virus'. Are Africans truly immune to SARS-CoV-2? Should this self-acclaimed immunity or resistance be explored or ignored? Hence this study.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2, Africa, immunity, resistance, COVID-19

References

• 1. Worldometer. COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. Accessed November 30, 2020, from: https://www.worldometers.info /coronavirus
• 2.Oyeniran O, Terkuma C, Onigbinde O, Ajagbe A. Avoiding an imminent catastrophe from COVID-19 pandemic in Africa: The need to urgently prohibit mass gatherings. Cumhuriyet Tıp Dergisi. 2020;42(2):203-207
• 3.Onigbinde OA, Babatunde O, Ajagbe AO. The Welfare of Healthcare Workers amidst COVID-19 pandemic in Sub-Sahara Africa: A call for concern. Ethics, Med Public Health. 2020; 15:100555
• 4.Okereke C, Nielsen K. The problem with predicting coronavirus apocalypse in Africa. AlJazeera. Accessed November 2, 2020, from: https://www.aljazeera.com/opin ions/2020/5/7/the-problem-with-predicting-coronavirus-apocalypse-in-africa/
• 5.Krishan K, Kanchan T. Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) resistance in African populations: A cause worth exploring. Acta bio-medica: Atenei Parmensis. 2020 ;91(3):e2020023
• 6.US Food and Drug Administration: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Revokes Emergency Use Authorization for Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine. Accessed November 16, 20202020. Available from: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-revokes-emergency-use-authorization-chloroquine
• 7. Prodromos C, Rumschlag T. Hydroxychloroquine is effective, and consistently so used early, for Covid-19: A systematic review. New Microbes New Infect. 2020;100776
• 8.Prodromos CC, T. Rumschlag and T. Perchyk. Hydroxy chloroquine is protective to the heart, not Harmful: A systematic review. New Microbes New Infect. 2020; 100747
• 9.Kathleen Doheny. More Vitamin D, Lower Risk of Severe COVID-19? Webmd Health News. Accessed November 15, 2020, from: https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200518/ more-vitamin-d-lower-risk-of-severe-covid-19