With nearly 5,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 199 deaths listed on Wednesday, April 1, the coronavirus epidemic is well established in Africa. The global health crisis is raising questions from continent to continent because living conditions are not the same.
Cameroonian epidemiologist Yap Boum II, a specialist on the continent who works for Doctors Without Borders, to provide answers. Hospital, hygiene, barrier actions, symptoms, masks, medicinal plants, chloroquine … a quick overview of what we should no longer ignore.
What are the symptoms and how to differentiate the coronavirus from influenza?
Symptoms of Covid-19 vary from person to person. Some carry the virus without experiencing symptoms, but can transmit the disease; most will have a fever, a dry cough in the chest, shortness of breath, chest pain and feeling faint, headache, runny nose, digestive problems (diarrhea), body aches and pains as well as fatigue. Some patients may experience anosmia (loss of smell) and dysgeusia (taste impairment).
Have we found a cure, a vaccine? At the moment there is neither a cure nor a validated vaccine.
Can chloroquine cure Covid-19 disease? Why have some countries decided to use it and others have not?
The results of a clinical trial carried out in Marseille, France, on a small number of people with hydroxychloroquine (similar to chloroquine which was used against malaria) showed promising results, but difficult to interpret and insufficient to make it general. However, the demand and fear are so strong that politicians make decisions that vary from country to country.
Some people do not prefer to offer chloroquine to their patients if they are not sure that it will not cause side effects on the most vulnerable or those suffering from other diseases. Others do not want to wait for the results of clinical trials and give in to media and popular pressure when treating with this drug. Several large clinical trials have been launched and should resolve the question in the weeks that are coming.
How did the infected people recover?
The vast majority of infected people have been cured thanks to their immune system, which was able to clear the virus from their bodies, without needing any special treatment.
Does the virus resist heat?
The virus cannot withstand very high temperatures above 60 “C. On the other hand, it is transmitted in hot countries such as Niger or Burkina Faso, where the temperatures can reach 40 “C.
Is it true that the antibodies of an African are three times more developed than those of a European, which would result in better protection of the inhabitants of the continent against the virus?
There is no scientific evidence for this. Studies will be set up in Cameroon to assess the immune response and can be compared to the results observed in China, Europe and the United States.
Is it possible to deal with the virus with “traditional solutions”?
Studies have been launched in Burkina Faso on the effect of certain traditional plants to prevent and treat Covid-19. It is important to remember that most of the drugs such as quinine, used against malaria and replaced by its synthetic derivative chloroquine, are extracted from cinchona, a shrub native to Latin America. It is therefore not impossible to find therapeutic solutions in Covid-19 in medicinal plants, but this remains to be demonstrated by scientific experimentation.
Does hot drinking prevent you from being infected with coronavirus?
No. A message encouraging gargles with warm water, salt and vinegar to eliminate the coronavirus has been disseminated. It’s obviously an addiction.
Are there people more vulnerable to this disease?
According to what has been observed in the affected countries, people over the age of 70 and those with other illnesses such as diabetes are at the highest risk of developing a severe form of the disease. However, young people also experience respiratory distress. No one is immune to this disease and everyone should follow the rules of handwashing hygiene, social distancing and home confinement as much as possible.
Where does the virus come from, was it created in the laboratory?
No. Coronaviruses are found in bats and pangolins which are eaten in several countries including China and Cameroon, for example, where pangolin is a very rare and highly prized dish. Viruses, whether influenza or HIV, always have an animal reservoir: they are permanently housed in certain animal species and can then be transmitted to humans. This is the case, for example, with avian flu. By multiplying, viruses all undergo mutations, they can acquire the capacity to be transmitted then from one person to another. This is what happened with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19 disease.
Does drinking alcohol and eating hot pepper kill the virus?
No, not at all, it has no effect on the virus. Drinking too much alcohol can also weaken the immune response, reduce the reflexes to respect hygiene measures and therefore promote contamination.
Can we continue to have sex? Is the virus transmitted sexually? Dermally?
The virus is spread when you are close to sick people through the spray of droplets into the air, within a radius of one meter, or when someone coughs or sneezes. You can also get it if you shake the hand of an infected person. We can therefore say that, during sexual intercourse, we are exposed to the transmission of the virus, but it is not transmitted sexually, which is not surprising since coronaviruses are a family of respiratory viruses.
How long does the virus last?
The virus can survive for hours or days on surfaces like paper, steel or plastic, causing contamination. That said, the fact that it survives on this surface does not necessarily mean that it remains contagious. We are not yet in a position to say, hence the need to wash your hands regularly. To clean surfaces, bleach is enough to destroy the virus. On the other hand, white vinegar is ineffective.
Why are children not affected?
Children are affected and transmit the disease. There are even 2 month old babies in whom the virus has been detected. But, in what has been observed, young children seem to develop less severe forms.
Do mosquitoes carry the virus? No. It is transmitted directly from one person to another.
Can a person in the incubation phase infect others?
The incubation phase lasts on average 5 or 6 days and can extend up to 14 days before the onset of symptoms. However, a minority of people are asymptomatic, that is, they carry the virus without symptoms. They are nevertheless likely to transmit the disease.
Does the virus stay alive on bread and can you be infected by eating bread?
Yes, you can, you find it contaminated from infected food itself, because the virus can enter the body through the oral and oropharyngeal mucosa. However, cooking neutralizes the virus.
Does the fact that I’m already sick with hepatitis B make me more vulnerable to Covid-19 than others?
People with HIV or hepatitis are more likely to suffer from medical conditions that make them more vulnerable to Covid-19. These people are recommended to adhere even more to hygiene and containment measures.
Can the disease be contracted more than once after a first recovery?
Yes. Cases of new infections of healed people have been described in China.
Can we eat from the same dish?
No. Whether for people who test positive for Covid-19 or healthy people, it is recommended at this time to avoid sharing dishes. You should know that many people are asymptomatic, that is to say carriers of the virus without showing symptoms.
Can I be sick without knowing it?
Yes. A significant number of people have tested positive for the virus without having any symptoms. These asymptomatic people transmit the disease.
On a continental scale, is it not South Africa that is likely to manage the situation better?
South Africa has a better health system than many African countries. It is however the African country with the highest number of cases. At the moment anyway … Nothing is certain with this pandemic.
Who should wear the mask? Where can we get it?
Initially, only sick people and health personnel had to wear FFP2 and FFP3 masks. Since the virus is highly contagious, masks in addition to hand washing and social distancing appear as an additional means of protection.
Unfortunately, the production of these masks is limited and the use of an unsuitable mask, whose level of filtering is insufficient, does not prevent the passage of virus particles.
When should I go to the hospital?
Staying at home is recommended if you experience early symptoms, as you could contaminate people you meet between home and the hospital. In addition, you may be infected by another patient in the hospital. It is advisable to call the response services at Covid-19, 1510 in Cameroon, to be guided in the procedure to follow.
Is it true that affected children are not weakened by the disease because they have been vaccinated against measles because of the similarities between Covid19 and measles?
No, there is no scientific evidence for a link between vaccination against measles and resistance to Covid-19, nor between these two diseases.
Can you make a hydroalcoholic solution yourself?
Yes, this is possible by adding 833 milliliters (ml) of 96% ethanol, 41.7 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide and 14.5 ml of 98% glycerol.
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