Preparedness is essential for malaria-endemic regions during the COVID-19 pandemic
Jigang Wang，Chengchao Xu，Yin Kwan Wong，Yingke He，Ayôla A Adegnika，Peter G Kremsner
Published:March 16, 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30561-4
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that first emerged in Wuhan in China's Hubei province1 has quickly spread to the rest of China and many other countries. Within 3 months, more than 125?000 people have been infected and the death toll had reached over 4600 worldwide on March 12, 2020.2 In an attempt to contain the virus, the Chinese Government has made unprecedented efforts and invested enormous resources and these containment efforts have stemmed the spread of the disease.3 As of March 12, 2020, malaria-endemic regions in Africa have reported a few imported COVID-19 cases including in Nigeria, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.2 Africa needs to be prepared to deal with COVID-19, given the infectious potential of the disease and its capacity to undermine malaria control efforts.4 In addition to the shared vigilance that countries around the world should maintain, regions need to consider their local malaria epidemic and take additional measures for preparation.
