Abstract:

This study provides a general epidemiological review of Corona-virus disease in Nigeria during the first wave of the pandemic from February to December 2020 and the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to curtail the disease. Coronavirus disease is a highly transmissible and pathogenic viral disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV2), which emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and later spread worldwide. The first confirmed case of the disease in Nigeria was in February 2020, and the subject was an Italian who works in Nigeria but returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos, after which the virus spread to other parts of the country. In order to curtail the spread of the menace, lockdown measures were introduced by the FGN during the first wave since there is no precise treatment for the disease, thus making prevention critical. Despite these measures, the spread of Covid-19 in Nigeria continues to record a significant surge beyond the first wave.

References:

[1] Hu, B., Guo. H., Zhou, P. and Shi., Z., 2021, Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 19(3),141-154. doi: 10.1038/s41579-020-00459-7.

[2] Latinne, A. et al., 2020, Origin and cross-species transmission of bat coronaviruses in China Nature Communications, 11(1),4235. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17687-3.

[3] Zhu, H., Wei, L. and Niu, P., 2020, The novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. Global Health Research and Policy, 5(1),1–3. doi.org/10.1186/s41256-020-00135-6.

[4] World Health Organization, 2021, WHO-convened global study of oigins of SARS-CoV-2’, Infectious Disease Immunology, Publish Ah(February). doi: 10.1097/id9.0000000000000017.

[5] Wiersinga, W. J, et al., 2020, Pathophysiology, transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19): A Review’, JAMA – Journal of the American Medical Association, 324(8),782-793. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.12839.

[6] World Health Organization, 2021, Statement for healthcare professionals: How Covid-19 vaccines are regulated for safety and effectiveness. https://www.who.int/news/item/11-06-2021-statement-for-healthcare-professionals-how-covid-19-vaccines-are-regulated-for-safety-and-effectiveness (accessed January 10, 2022).

[7] World Health Organization, 2020, Rational use of personal protective equipment for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). World Health Organization, 2019(February), pp. 1–7. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331695/WHO-2019-nCov-IPC_PPE_use-2020.3-eng.pdf.

[8] Corman, V.M., Muth, D., Niemeyer, D. and Drosten, C., 2018, Hosts and sources of endemic human coronaviruses Advance in Virus Research, 100,163-188. doi: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2018.01.001.

[9] Cui, J., Li, F., Shi, Z.L., 2019, Origin and evolution of pathogenic coronaviruses. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 17(3),181-192. doi: 10.1038/s41579-018-0118-9.

[10] Yang, Y., 2020, The deadly cronaviruses: The 2003 SARS pandemic and the 2020 novel coronavirus epidemic in china, The company’s public news and information Journal of Autoimmunity 109, p. 102487.Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896841120300470?via%3Dihub.

[11] Abdool, K., Salim, S. and de Oliveira, T., 2021, New SARS-CoV-2 variants-clinical, public health, and vaccine implications New England Journal of Medicine Massachusetts, 384(19),1866-1868.

[12] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention., 2021, New Covid-19 Variants. [First published 11 February 2020].

[13] Lauring, A. S. and Hodcroft, E. B., 2021, Genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2-What do they mean? . Journal of the American Medical Association, 325(6),529–531.

[14] Swelum, A.A. et al., 2020, ‘Covid-19 in Human, animal, and environment: A review’, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 7:1-13. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00578.

[15] Lauer, S.A., et al., 2020, The incubation period of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) from publicly reported confirmed cases: Estimation and application. Annals of Internal fMedicine, 172(9),577–582. doi: 10.7326/M20-0504.

[16] Paul, S. and Lorin, E., 2021, Distribution of incubation periods of Covid-19 in the Canadian context Science Reports, 11(1):1–9. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-91834-8.

[17]  Funk, C.D., Laferrière, C. and Ardakani, A, 2020, Transmission and life cycle of SARS-CoV-2 causing Covid-19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19#/media/File:Fphar-11-00937-g001.jpg.

[18] Islam, M.A., 2021, “Prevalence and characteristics of fever in adult and paediatric patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A systematic review and meta-analysis of 17515 patients PLOS ONE. 16 (4): e0249788.

[19] Agyeman, A.A, et al., 2020, Smell and taste dysfunction in patients with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 95(8),1621–1631.

[20] Saniasiaya, J., Islam, M. A., and Abdullah., B., 2020. Prevalence and characteristics of taste disorders in cases of COVID-19: A meta-analysis of 29,349 Patients. Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery 165 (1):33-42.

[21] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention U.S, 2020a, “Interim clinical guidance for management of patients with confirmed coronavirus disease (Covid-19)”.

[22] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention U.S. (2020b). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html (accessed January 10, 2022).

[23] Reuters, 2020, Italian with coronavirus in Nigeria was not isolated for almost 24 hours. www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-nigeria-idUSKCN20M07D.

[24] Okoroiwu, H.U, Ogar, C.O., Nja, G.M.E., Abunimye, D.A. and Ejemot-Nwadiaro, R.I, 2021, Covid-19 in nigeria: Account of epidemiological events, response, management, preventions and lessons learned. Germs 11:391–402. https://doi.org/10.18683/germs.2021.1276.

[25] World Health Organization, 2021, Covid-19 weekly epidemiological update, edition 56, 7 September 2021.

[26] International Monitoring Fund, 2021, Policy Responses to Covid-19. Imf 2020:1–189. https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-Covid-19 (accessed February 10, 2022)

[27] Milibari, A.A, 2020, iMedPub Journals Current Situation of Coronavirus Disease : Albaraa A Milibari 10–3. https://doi.org/10.36648/1791-809X.S1.005.

[28] Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2020, The territorial impact of Covid-19 : Managing The Crisis Across Levels of Government. Organ Fo Econ Coop Dev 2020:2–44.