The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Epidemic in Zimbabwe: Quo Vadis?

Abstract

The trajectory and impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa are unclear, but they are seemingly varied between different countries, with most reporting low numbers. We use the situation in Zimbabwe to build an argument that the epidemic is likely to be attenuated in some countries with similar socioeconomic and cultural structures. However, even an attenuated epidemic may overwhelm weak health systems, emphasizing the importance of prevention. These prevention strategies should be tailored to the unique social and cultural networks of individual countries, which may facilitate the spread of SARS-CoV-2. It is also equally important to maintain services for the major infectious diseases in the region, such as tuberculosis and malaria. A breakdown of treatment and prevention services for these conditions may even overshadow the projected morbidity and mortality from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Genomic Diversity and Hotspot Mutations in 30,983 SARS-CoV-2 Genomes: Moving Toward a Universal Vaccine for the “Confined Virus”?

“…Mutations in this receptor are a likely pathway to evade antibody recognition, such as described in other viruses [ 40 , 41 ]. In all the genomes analyzed, 36 non-synonymous RBD mutations were identified and all these mutations had a low frequency (<0.01) in the genomes of six continents, which is consistent with several studies that have found that mutations are extremely rare in the RBD region [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 42 , 43 ]. The calculated binding-free energy of mutant RBDs of spike protein complexed with human ACE2 revealed only four RBD mutant types (D364Y, N440K, N450K, S477R) displaying a much lower binding-free energy (ΔG), indicating a significantly higher affinity for the ACE2, which could influence the pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2.…”

“…Furthermore, the dynamics of transmission showed that the least divergent African variants were grouped with Asian strains, while the most divergent were grouped with Europe and North America. This distribution points to different sources of infection [ 26 , 27 ]. South America’s genomes appear to originate from North America and Europe, showing a close clustering with Europe in low and high divergence strains, which is concordant with a previous study [ 28 ].…”

Psychosocial Impacts of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic in Zimbabwe: Citizens’ Perspective

“…The Status Quo of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe Despite the protracted socioeconomic challenges driven by inter alia bad governance amid unfavorable climatic factors such as recurring droughts and cyclones (Makuyana et al 2020), Zimbabwe has continued to be vigilant and proactive in trying to prevent and mitigate against the impacts of COVID-19 (Dziva 2020;Katsidzira et al 2020;Price 2020). Available statistics show that as of September 2020, Zimbabwe had recorded a total of 7,429 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 222 fatalities, and 5,542 recoveries (Ministry of Health and Child Care 2020).…”

“…Upon the confirmation of the first COVID-19 case in Zimbabwe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa on March 27, 2020 declared a state of disaster in respect of the pandemic (Price 2020). The President's declaration was accompanied by a raft of measures including the pronouncement of a mandatory 21 days (later extended by another 14 days and thereafter indefinite) national lockdown designed to prevent, slow, suffocate, and eventually thwart the spread of the pandemic (Katsidzira et al 2020;Price 2020). In synch with the President's declaration, the government, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care, promulgated Statutory Instruments (SI) 2020-077 Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) Regulations and SI 2020-110 Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) (Amendment) Order, 2020 (No.…”

“…Experts have noted that without following strict prevention protocols as prescribed by the WHO, Africa can soon become the next and major epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, and thereby surpass America, Asia, and Europe (Adeshakin et al 2020). This rather pessimistic perception of Africa's vulnerability has been emboldened by observations in America and Europe wherein low-income earners and Black communities have been bearing the brunt of the pandemic, and thus igniting extrapolations that similar or worse trends can be observed in Africa where similar socioeconomic conditions prevail (Katsidzira et al 2020). Additionally, the expectation of worst COVID-19 outcomes in Africa have been explained in terms of the high proportion of people in the continent who are living with various co-morbidities such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and tuberculosis, which have been clinically proven to amplify the fatality risk of COVID-19 (Nkengasongand Mankoula 2020).…”