Stark gaps in testing and surveillance in Africa contribute to a blind spot regarding how many people were exposed to SARS-CoV-2, but a recent meta-analysis of seroprevalence studies revealed that nearly two-thirds were infected and that the true number of cases might be 98 times higher than official numbers.In other COVID-19 developments, Shanghai's COVID-19 numbers, mainly asymptomatic infections, continue to surge, and in the United States, disagreement over a bill to fund COVID-19 response efforts has stalled progress, perhaps for many more weeks.Asymptomatic cases common in AfricaOfficials from the World Health Organization (WHO) African regional office today at a briefing detailed the key findings from WHO researchers and their partners.
The study is undergoing peer review and originally appeared in a preprint report.While acknowledging that it's difficult to compare Africa's COVID-19 patterns with that of other regions, the study provides some clues, WHO officials said.
For comparison, the global average of true infections is thought to be 16 times higher than official case counts.Matshidiso Moeti, MBBS, who directs the WHO African regional office, said Africa's levels of asymptomatic infections, at 67%, are known to be higher than that of other regions and that Africa has had milder cases, likely due to lower levels of underlying risk factors and a younger population."This under-counting is occurring world-wide and it's no surprise that the numbers are particularly large in Africa where there are so many cases with no symptoms," she said.Routine COVID-19 testing in much of Africa has focused on travelers and people hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms, but seroprevalence studies can shed light on asymptomatic and