Rift Valley fever during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Africa: A double burden for Africa's healthcare system

Abstract

A new rising incidence of Rift Valley fever (RVF) among livestock and humans in the African continent during the COVID‐19 pandemic has become of increasing concern. We analyzed the different ways COVID‐19 has contributed to the increase in RVF cases and how it has impacted the interventions allocated to the disease by comparing it with the status of the disease before the pandemic. There is enough evidence to conclude that the COVID‐19 pandemic has impacted the efforts being taken to prevent outbreaks of RVF. Therefore, with no definitive treatment in place and inadequate preventive measures and disease control, RVF may potentially lead to a future epidemic unless addressed urgently.

Russia-Ukraine conflict and COVID-19: a double burden for Ukraine's healthcare system and a concern for global citizens

“…Once all of this is in place, military personnel can be educated on the many types of communicable diseases, available vaccinations, and how to avoid and treat them. Civilians can adopt a similar strategy that focuses on preparedness, education, personal protective measures, immunisations, chemoprophylaxis and surveillance 18–22…”

Poliomyelitis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa: Efforts, challenges and recommendations

“…However, thanks to an extensive network of polio personnel in hard-to-reach communities, there have been successful dissemination of public health messages to dispel misinformation while also leveraging polio success stories to encourage parents and caregivers to allow their children to get vaccinated against the disease. 9 In addition to the polio outbreak, some African countries were simultaneously facing other infectious diseases and viral outbreaks such as Lassa fever, HIV/AIDS, cholera, Dengue fever, Rift Valley fever, pneumonia, African Swine fever and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 …”

Prospect of acute hepatitis E virus outbreak in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa: A contingency plan

“…Moreover, HEV remains neglected with regard to public health awareness and funding [ 17 ]. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a campaign in 2015 to eliminate viral hepatitis globally by 2030 [ 18 ].…”

“…At the same time, HEV outbreaks continued to be reported in various SSA countries [ 11 ] . In addition to hepatitis E, some African countries have faced other infectious diseases and viral outbreaks such as Lassa fever, HIV/AIDS, cholera, Dengue fever, Rift Valley fever, pneumonia and African Swine fever [ [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] ]. This article aims to determine the current situation, burden, and challenges facing HEV in Africa to limit future outbreaks.…”