Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory infection which has afflicted virtually almost all nations of the earth. It is highly transmissible and represents one of the most serious pandemics in recent times, with the capacity to overwhelm any healthcare system and cause morbidity and fatality. The diagnosis of this disease is daunting and challenging as it is dependent on emerging clinical symptomatology that continues to increase and change very rapidly. The definitive test is the very expensive and scarce polymerase chain reaction (PCR) viral identification technique. The management has remained largely supportive and empirical, as there are no officially approved therapeutic agents, vaccines or antiviral medications for the management of the disease. Severe cases often require intensive care facilities and personnel. Yet there is paucity of facilities including the personnel required for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It is against this backdrop that a review of key published reports on the pandemic in SSA and globally is made, as understanding the natural history of a disease and the documented responses to diagnosis and management is usually a key public health strategy for designing and improving as appropriate, relevant interventions. Lead findings were that responses by most nations of SSA were adhoc, paucity of public health awareness strategies and absence of legislations that would help enforce preventive measures, as well as limited facilities (including personal protective equipment) and institutional capacities to deliver needed interventions. COVID-19 is real and has overwhelmed global health care system especially low-income countries of the sub-Sahara such as Nigeria. Suggestions for improvement of healthcare policies and programs to contain the current pandemic and to respond more optimally in case of future pandemics are made herein.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行：撒哈拉以南非洲自然史的影响、诊断和护理管理的挑战

冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是一种严重的急性呼吸道感染，几乎困扰着地球上的所有国家。它具有高度传播性，是近年来最严重的流行病之一，有能力压垮任何医疗系统并导致发病和死亡。这种疾病的诊断是令人畏惧和具有挑战性的，因为它依赖于不断增加和快速变化的新出现的临床症状。最终的测试是非常昂贵且稀缺的聚合酶链反应（PCR）病毒识别技术。由于没有官方批准的治疗药物、疫苗或抗病毒药物来治疗该疾病，管理层在很大程度上仍然是支持性的和经验性的。严重病例通常需要重症监护设施和人员。然而，撒哈拉以南非洲 (SSA) 的设施匮乏，包括诊断和治疗 COVID-19 所需的人员。正是在这种背景下，对 SSA 和全球范围内已发表的有关这一流行病的主要报告进行了审查，因为了解疾病的自然史以及对诊断和管理的记录反应通常是设计和改进疾病的关键公共卫生战略。适当的、相关的干预措施。主要调查结果是，大多数撒哈拉以南非洲国家的应对措施都是临时的，缺乏公共卫生意识战略，缺乏有助于执行预防措施的立法，以及提供所需干预措施的设施（包括个人防护设备）和机构能力有限。COVID-19 是真实存在的，并且已经压垮了全球医疗保健系统，特别是尼日利亚等撒哈拉以南地区的低收入国家。本文提出了改进医疗保健政策和计划的建议，以遏制当前的大流行，并在未来发生大流行时做出更优化的反应。