With this ever-present coronavirus cloud hanging over us, it’s hard to remember that in 2009 we had anxiety over another virus, Swine Flu (H1N1). Just 11 short years ago we were hearing of rapidly escalating cases and people dying around us from this influenza. It was declared a national emergency by the Department of Health and Human Services of the Obama administration.
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The first case was reported in April 2009 and it swept through the nation and by April 2010 it was contained, with approximately 57 million Americans infected, nearly 257 thousand hospitalized, and more than 12 thousand died. That was just 11 years ago. With the H1N1 pandemic being so recent, you would think there would be a response playbook of sorts. When a contagion presents itself, this is what we do.
By contrast, in Africa in 2014 – 2015 the Ebola virus erupted across West Africa causing horrific death and panic in the region. Once it was contained, the World Health Organization (WHO) and doctors across the continent knew they needed to be prepared for the next outbreak. So, it turns out, there is a response playbook. In 2015, the WHO developed “WHO Strategic Response Plan: West Africa Ebola Outbreak.” This document outlines everything from response to recovery.
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Because of the expertise gained in battling Ebola, countries like Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) jumped into action as soon as they learned of the threat of COVID-19. “Having the Ebola screening in place made it easy for us to start screening for coronavirus disease,” says Dr. Aaron Aruna, Director of the Fight against Disease in the Ministry of Public Health in a February 20, 2020 paper from WHO.
Leading efforts to prepare for the arrival of COVID-19 since the beginning of 2020 for the DRC, Dr. Eteni Longondo, DRC’s Minister of Public Health established a coronavirus preparedness committee that meets twice a week with the WHO and other partners to conduct simulation exercises at Kinshasa International Airport to test their readiness for handling cases.
Kinshasa International Airport is one of four airports, strategic border crossings, and three ports where they are testing travelers for early signs of Ebola and now health workers are checking for coronavirus as well.
If someone is suspected of being infected with the coronavirus, they are immediately taken to isolation. “It is helpful that a lot of the infrastructure needed to diagnose, isolate, and treat severe cases is already in place due to Ebola,” explains Dr. Gervais Folefack Tengomo, WHO Incident Manager for COVID-19 in the DRC. The DRC has a laboratory system already created for Ebola that can now be used for coronavirus testing as well. Currently, there are in excess of 20 countries in the WHO African Region that has diagnostic capabilities to test for COVID-19.
It is clear Africa took what it learned from previous pandemics and made the continent ready for whatever contagion comes next.
