COVID-19 and malaria in sub-saharan Africa: Holistic diagnostic approaches may promote effective clinical case management

Comparative analysis of the unregulated sale of antimicrobial prescription medication by drug retailers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Abuja, Nigeria

“…It is noteworthy that the recognized clinical signs and symptoms of SARS-COV-2 infection, such as fever, dry cough, sore throat, headache, fatigue, myalgia, breathlessness, hypoxaemia and acute respiratory disease, share several overlapping features with both bacterial and malarial infections [16,17]. In light of the inadequate provision for molecular diagnostics outside of a select few suitably supplied tertiary care centres misdiagnosis of COVID-19, malaria and MDR bacterial infections is likely to be a common occurrence in both urban and rural communities across Nigeria [16]. Hence, it may be reasonably assumed that the parallel public health management of these deadly infectious diseases will continue to be difficult to achieve.…”