South Africa’s spent decades fighting the world’s worst epidemic of tuberculosis and HIV. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic becomes a menace to the region, HIV
TBSouth Africa hopes that its battle with HIV and TB has helped prepare them for it. Although, TB and HIV infection could create the worst impact on the pandemic.
South Africa had confirmed 1686 cases of COVID-19 by April 6. This is by far the maximum number reported on the continent, and also an under-count. Additionally, one in every five individuals is HIV positive. Subsequently, two to three individuals die from TB hourly.
Scientists from South Africa trust the resources and health systems used to battle those infections will assist them with combating the new pandemic.
“The COVID-19 response draws on the same skills as TB and HIV,” says Gavin Churchyard, director of the Aurum Institute, a Johannesburg-based research, and health care nonprofit.
South Africa’s government provide mobile clinics
Gavin points out that infection control strategies are the same as those for COVID-19 and TB. Both of them spread through expelled droplets from the facial area. This implies that health care practitioners are aware of the protective clothing required to treat infected patients.
South Africa’s government has started to send mobile testing clinics for COVID-19 to the largely inhabited areas this week. They did so to track contacts and identify cases. Gavin’s foundation has “enormously eased back down” its ordinary research exercises quit enrolling patients into clinical trials and prepared its 3000 workers. 80% of them are cutting edge laborers, to help national COVID-19 testing and contact tracking efforts. Aurum’s specialists likewise plan to examine medications and vaccines and will screen how well South Africa’s COVID-19 reaction is working.
Research institute lends a helping hand
The African Health Research Institute (AHRI) in Durban, South Africa, which regularly centers around HIV and TB, has dispatched its whole set up and staff to fight the pandemic. COVID-19 has just begun to overwhelm African countries but South Africa and many other nations have enforced a lockdown both local and nationwide. The most puzzling question is whether the existing infection will worsen the impact of the pandemic.
Two surveillance sites in south Africa will monitor 40,000 homes in zones highly hit by HIV and TB. This will help researchers to study whether HIV positive individuals have decreased immunity to the new virus. They will also learn if TB lung damage might influence the effect of the disease.
They will likewise explore the effect of the across the country lockdown on rural families, just as on emotional well-being, says Kobus Herbst, who heads the South African Population Research Infrastructure Network, which incorporates Aurum and AHRI.
Although Gavin thinks that South Africa will face difficulty in battling the coronavirus. This is since the death toll from HIV and TB remains among the highest in the world. Aurum senior researcher, Stalwart Gita became among the first to die last week from the deadly virus.
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