The COVID-19 Pandemic: Diverse Contexts; Different Epidemics—How and Why?
Type
ArticleAuthor/s
Van Damme, WimDahake, Ritwik
Delamou, Alexandre
Ingelbeen, Brecht
Wouters, Edwin
Vanham, Guido
van de Pas, Remco
Dossou, Jean-Paul
Ir, Por
Abimbola, Seye
Van der Borght, Stefaan
Narayanan, Devadasan
Bloom, Gerald
Van Engelgem, Ian
Ahmed, Mohamed Ali Ag
Kiendrébéogo, Joël Arthur
Verdonck, Kristien
De Brouwere, Vincent
Bello, Kéfilath
Kloos, Helmut
Aaby, Peter
Kalk, Andreas
Al-Awlaqi, Sameh
Prashanth, NS
Muyembe-Tamfum, Jean-Jacques
Mbala, Placide
Ahuka-Mundeke, Steve
Assefa, Yibeltal
Abstract
It is very exceptional that a new disease becomes a true pandemic. Since its emergence in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has spread to nearly all countries of the world in only a few months. However, in different countries, the COVID-19 ...
See moreIt is very exceptional that a new disease becomes a true pandemic. Since its emergence in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has spread to nearly all countries of the world in only a few months. However, in different countries, the COVID-19 epidemic takes variable shapes and forms in how it affects communities. Until now the insights gained on COVID-19 have been largely dominated by the COVID-19 epidemics and the lockdowns in China, Europe, and the United States. But this variety of global trajectories is little described, analysed, or understood. In only a few months, an enormous amount of scientific evidence on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 has been uncovered (knowns). But important knowledge gaps remain (unknowns). An important missing piece of the COVID-19 puzzle can be solved by learning from the variety of ways the COVID-19 epidemic is unfolding across the globe. This paper tries to make sense of this variability—by exploring the important role that context plays in these different COVID-19 epidemics; by comparing COVID-19 epidemics with other respiratory diseases, including other coronaviruses that circulate continuously; and by highlighting the critical unknowns and uncertainties that remain. These unknowns and uncertainties require a deeper understanding of the variable trajectories of COVID-19. Unraveling them will be important for discerning potential future scenarios, such as the first wave in virgin territories still untouched by COVID-19 and for future waves elsewhere.
See less
See moreIt is very exceptional that a new disease becomes a true pandemic. Since its emergence in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has spread to nearly all countries of the world in only a few months. However, in different countries, the COVID-19 epidemic takes variable shapes and forms in how it affects communities. Until now the insights gained on COVID-19 have been largely dominated by the COVID-19 epidemics and the lockdowns in China, Europe, and the United States. But this variety of global trajectories is little described, analysed, or understood. In only a few months, an enormous amount of scientific evidence on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 has been uncovered (knowns). But important knowledge gaps remain (unknowns). An important missing piece of the COVID-19 puzzle can be solved by learning from the variety of ways the COVID-19 epidemic is unfolding across the globe. This paper tries to make sense of this variability—by exploring the important role that context plays in these different COVID-19 epidemics; by comparing COVID-19 epidemics with other respiratory diseases, including other coronaviruses that circulate continuously; and by highlighting the critical unknowns and uncertainties that remain. These unknowns and uncertainties require a deeper understanding of the variable trajectories of COVID-19. Unraveling them will be important for discerning potential future scenarios, such as the first wave in virgin territories still untouched by COVID-19 and for future waves elsewhere.
See less
Date
2020Share