By Lerato Ndlovu
As COVID-19 confirmed cases continue to surge in Africa, more contagious and deadly variants are fueling the continent’s surging third wave.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) cases in Africa have increased in the past six weeks and rose by 25% week-on-week to almost 202 000 in the week ending on June 27th, reaching nine tenths of the continent’s previous record of 224 000 new cases. Deaths rose by 15% across 38 African countries to nearly 3000 in the same period.
The Delta variant is spreading to a growing number of countries and stands as the most contagious variant yet, an estimated 30%–60% more transmissible than other variants. It is in three of the five countries reporting the highest caseloads for the week ending 27 June.
World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti said the rampant spread is a threat to the African continent.
“The speed and scale of Africa’s third wave is like nothing we’ve seen before. The rampant spread of more contagious variants pushes the threat to Africa up to a whole new level. More transmission means more serious illness and more deaths, so everyone must act now and boost prevention measures to stop an emergency becoming a tragedy.
“A better understanding of the molecular evolution of the variants will also aid countries in making quick decisions around which vaccines to use. Although eight vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective and have received WHO emergency use listing, shipments to Africa have dried up.
“While supply challenges grind on, dose sharing can help plug the gap. We are grateful for the pledges made by our international partners, but we need urgent action on allocations. Africa must not be left languishing in the throes of its worst wave yet,” said Dr Moeti.
Delta variant is dominant in South Africa, which accounted for more than half of Africa’s cases in the same period. According to the latest country reports, the Delta variant was detected in 97% of samples sequenced in Uganda and 79% of samples sequenced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Alpha and Beta variants have been reported in 32 and 27 countries respectively.
The Alpha variant has been detected in most countries in north, west and central Africa. The Beta variant is more widespread in southern Africa. Both of these variants are more transmissible.
