The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a continent-wide study has started on anti-coronavirus antibodies after evidence indicated more people have been infected than official figures show.
Director John Nkengasong told reporters the study will include all African countries, but those showing interest in starting in the coming weeks are Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria and Morocco. This was after surveys in Mozambique found antibodies in 5% of households in Nampula town and 2.5% in Pemba town.
And yet Mozambique has only 2,481 confirmed cases. Nkengasong says, “What’s important is that far fewer people get the disease. How many people are infected and asymptomatic on our continent? We do not know it. The young African population, with a median age of 19, was identified as a possible factor ”.
If there are therefore more people infected with the disease than official figures show, it goes without saying that they are asymptomatic, which could facilitate research and studies on antibodies that can help immunize against the disease. Covid-19 on the continent.
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