Post-COVID-19 conditions and health effects in Africa: a scoping review.

Publication date: Jan 07, 2025

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused global devastations in social, economic and health systems of every nation, but disproportionately of nations in Africa. In addition to its grave effects on the global systems, there is continuation or development of new symptoms among individuals who have contracted the virus, with the potential to further stress the health systems on the continent. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review was to collate and summarise the existing research evidence on the prevalence and health effects of post-COVID-19 conditions in Africa. Five main databases were thoroughly searched from 1 September 2023 to 10 May 2024 for eligible articles based on the pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria. These databases included PubMed, Central, Scopus, Dimensions AI and JSTOR. A total of 17 papers were included in the review. The protocol for this review is already published in BMJ Open; doi:10. 1136/bmjopen-2023-082519. The prevalence of post-COVID-19 conditions in Africa ranged from 2% to as high as 94. 7%. Fatigue, dyspnoea and brain fog were among the commonly reported symptoms of post-COVID-19 conditions. Reduced functional status as well as physical and psychosocial disorders were the main health effects reported by the studies reviewed, but no study yet reported the effects of post-COVID-19 conditions on the health systems in Africa. There is an evidence of high prevalence of post-COVID-19 conditions in the African setting. However, there is limited evidence of the health effects of the post-COVID-19 conditions on patients and health systems in Africa. This scoping review involved analysis of secondary data; therefore, no ethical approval was needed. Dissemination of the result is being done through international journals and may also be presented at available research conferences.

Open Access PDF

Concepts	Keywords
Africa	Africa
Databases	COVID-19
Pandemic	COVID-19
	Dyspnea
	Fatigue
	Humans
	Pandemics
	Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
	Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
	Prevalence
	Public health
	SARS-CoV-2

Semantics

Type	Source	Name
disease	MESH	brain fog
disease	MESH	functional status
disease	MESH	Post COVID conditions
disease	MESH	COVID 19 pandemic
disease	MESH	infections
disease	IDO	infection
disease	MESH	breathlessness
disease	MESH	cognitive impairments
disease	MESH	complications
drug	DRUGBANK	Coenzyme M
drug	DRUGBANK	Trestolone
drug	DRUGBANK	Ademetionine
disease	IDO	process
disease	IDO	country
disease	MESH	Syndrome
pathway	REACTOME	Immune System
disease	MESH	Infectious Diseases
disease	MESH	insomnia
disease	MESH	anosmia
disease	MESH	arthralgia
disease	MESH	chest pain
disease	MESH	depression
disease	MESH	ageusia
disease	MESH	tremors
disease	MESH	suicidal ideation
disease	IDO	symptom
disease	MESH	Anxiety
disease	MESH	Anorexia
disease	MESH	Gastritis
disease	MESH	Hair Loss
disease	MESH	Neuropathic pain
disease	MESH	causes
disease	IDO	immune response
disease	MESH	hypoxia
disease	MESH	psychological stress
disease	MESH	cytokine storm
disease	MESH	neuroinflammation
disease	MESH	psychological distress
disease	MESH	obesity
disease	MESH	cardiovascular diseases
disease	MESH	PTSD
disease	IDO	intervention
disease	MESH	AIDS
drug	DRUGBANK	Etoperidone
drug	DRUGBANK	Tolbutamide

Original Article

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)