London, April 1, 2020 (AltAfrica)-Over 400 people who have been infected by the coronavirus in Africa have now recovered, according to health experts.
READ ALSO: EGYPT, NIGERIA ANNOUNCE 67 NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES, GHANA DOCTOR TESTS POSITIVE
The continent has so far recorded over 5,255 cases with deaths now hitting at least 172 across the entire region as at March 31, 2020.
Hope in despair as over 400 patients recover from coronavirus in Africa
(AP Image)Egypt has 150 people recovering from the pandemic, the highest in Africa, followed by Algeria with 77 recoveries.
Countries like Ghana, Burkina Faso, and South Africa have all recorded at least 31 recoverie
#COVID19 – UPDATE: 31 MARCH 2020 – 10:00 am EATAfrican Union Member States (47) reporting COVID-19 cases (5,255), deaths (172), and recoveries (371) by region pic.twitter.com/sOGs2yyOXc— Africa CDC (@AfricaCDC) March 31, 2020 These cases of recoveries gives hope to some who have been in despair for months since the pandemic emerged.
Unlike other continents, Africa has lower rates of infections, deaths as well as recoveries but there are fears the picture can change in the coming weeks.
There have been no details about treatment system for patients with the virus.
But the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has reportedly approved the use of Chloroquine to treat coronavirus patients.
ECOWAS supports supplementary anti-viral treatment of coronavirus with hydroxychloroquine but said it should be for mild forms of the virus.
#COVID19 #FACTS: The #coronavirus is mainly transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. pic.twitter.com/jhHGXqMtvx— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) March 31, 2020 That means only patients displaying mild symptoms of the virus can receive hydroxychloroquine treatment for between 5-7 days.
In parts of the sub-region, health experts have been researching on the efficacy of the anti-malarial drug for treating Covid-19.
One ECOWAS researcher, Emmanuel Bensah told Africa Feeds that “in Togo, doctors are using Chloroquine to treat patients with the virus.”
Senegal is already experimenting with the drug for patients while Burkina Faso has said it will soon launch clinical trials for testing of Chloroquine as one of the drugs to fight coronavirus.
Chloroquine, an anti-malarial drug works in a different way and is given to people to prevent malaria infections if they are bitten by a mosquito carrying the parasite.
The drug works by salts inside them poisoning parasites and preventing them from growing inside human red blood cells.
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