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African Dilemma ?


At first glance on the same day two apparently contradictory things going on … or so it seems, but au contraire. Read on.

First off there is a new variant, B.1.1.529, that seems to have originated in South Africa, and has spread to neighboring countries in the southern part of the African continent.

From CNBC:

“[The] World Health Organization assigned the newly identified variant the Greek letter omicron and formally recognized the strain, previously referred to as lineage B.1.1.529, as a “variant of concern.”

Health experts are deeply concerned about the transmissibility of the omicron variant given that it has an unusual constellation of mutations and a profile that is different from other variants of concern. It is not clear how severe infections would be for vaccinated patients.

It is feared a sharp upswing of Covid cases in South Africa’s Gauteng province — where the heavily mutated strain of the virus was first identified — could mean it has greater potential to escape prior immunity than other variants.”

Then on the other hand last week from the A.P.:

“But there is something “mysterious” going on in Africa that is puzzling scientists, said Wafaa El-Sadr, chair of global health at Columbia University. “Africa doesn’t have the vaccines and the resources to fight COVID-19 that they have in Europe and the U.S., but somehow they seem to be doing better,” she said.

Fewer than 6% of people in Africa are vaccinated. For months, the WHO has described Africa as “one of the least affected regions in the world” in its weekly pandemic reports.”

So what do we have here? A continent with a generalized low incidence of Covid now experiencing an outbreak of a new, potentially more infectious strain. Is it possible that having a low overall incidence of Covid somehow induces new mutations? If so, then are we doomed? Low overall incidence of Covid … bad! High incidence of Covid … bad! OMG! 

However, do not despair as the continent of Africa is not uniform as far a few important things. The sub-Saharan section of Africa is different from the southern section that encompasses South Africa and the nearby  countries of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi. How so? First off, the occurrence of malaria in the vast middle region of the African continent is not the same as in the southern parts of Africa. Consequently, could it be that the widespread usage of Hydroxychloroquine in these malaria prone areas be the difference maker?

Could it be that the usage of Ivermectin is different in the middle of Africa compared to the southern region?

From Tokyo Medical Association Chairman Haruo Ozaki, August 13 2021:

“In Africa, if we compare countries distributing ivermectin once a year with countries which do not give ivermectin … I mean, they don’t give ivermectin to prevent COVID, but to prevent parasitic diseases … but anyway, if we look at COVID numbers in countries that give ivermectin, the number of cases is 134.4 per 100,000, and the number of deaths is 2.2 in 100,000.”

“Now, African countries which do not distribute ivermectin: 950.6 cases per 100,000 and 29.3 deaths per 100,000,” Ozaki added.

“I believe the difference is clear.”

So perhaps the African dilemma is not as much of a dilemma as it first appears. Could it be that our old friends, Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin are the heroes here in sub-Saharan Africa? 

I have my opinion on this, but it is curious that we have not heard from President Biden’s advisor, Dr. Fauci, on this issue. Hmmm!

11/29/21

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