Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Wondimagegn, Dawit
• Petros, Adane
• Asrat, Yidnekachew
• Aklilu, Tesfamariam
• Estifanos, Abiy Seifu
• Addissie, Adamu
• Amogne, Wondwossen
• Gebremariam, Tewodros Haile
• Cartmill, Carrie
• Whitehead, Cynthia
• Soklaridis, Sophie
• Yifter, Helen

Titel

COVID-19 in Ethiopia: A contextual approach to explaining its slow growth

Ist Teil von

• Journal of global health, 2020-12, Vol.10 (2), p.020369-020369

Ort / Verlag

Scotland: Edinburgh University Global Health Society

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• [...]an extensive search of the academic literature was done to identify evidence for the identified explanatory themes. [...]we combined information from the focus group and the literature review to engage with a multidisciplinary panel of over 80 high level academic and policy experts and health professionals from Ethiopia on May 8, 2020. Table 1 Possible contributors to low counts of COVID-19 cases in Ethiopia, based on a focus group discussion on April 25, 2020 Potential contributing factors Explanatory interpretation Reliance on self and institutional reporting Testing-related factors Insufficient disclosure Insufficient contract tracing Prolonged incubation period and asymptomatic viral shedding Low testing capacity Narrow case definition Challenges with specimen collection and transportation Insufficient training and experience Standardization of testing for local use Low adjuvant investigations using tests other than RT-PCR Low sensitivity of RT-PCR in early stages of infection High prevalence of other infectious diseases provides protection Differences in host-agent factors Cross-immunity with other viruses Genetic diversity of both virus and host Environmental factors (temperature, humidity, altitude) Age distribution Urban to rural ratio Social determinants (culture, diet, pets) Hygiene hypothesis (including immunizations) Travel and movement patterns General naiveté for modern medicine Timing and early implementation of interventions Early implementation of public health measures Quarantine Isolation Banning of mass gatherings Border closures School closures Health education campaigns Ethiopia is in its 8th week of monitoring The epidemic trajectory Ethiopia is in the pre-growth phase of infections Photo: The landscape and context of Ethiopia. Measuring the impact of public health interventions takes time, requires measurement of compliance, and can be difficult to track at a population level. Because of this difficulty, it is not possible to rule out the role of NPIs in explaining the slow growth of COVID-19 in Ethiopia.