COVID-19 Update | June 2022

Published: Wed, 06/15/22

COVID-19 Update | 15 June 2022

Vaccine Rollout

Despite us being in the winter months and amidst the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant (BA.4 and BA.5 originating from the Omicron variant), according to the NICD, the infection rate of COVID-19 in South Africa, has peaked and is now sitting at 6.8%.

According to SA Coronavirus, the total number of COVID-19 vaccines administered has also increased over the months with 18.24 million (45.85%) of the South African population reported to having now been fully vaccinated.

The number of vaccinated individuals changes daily. To get accurate updates on the vaccine rollout, visit the external resources section on our COVID-19 Vaccine page or click here.

Individuals are still advised to vaccinate as this will lessen the chances of severe illness and hospitalisation. Find your nearest vaccination site here.

>Source: SA Coronavirus

Study shows why COPD patients are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19

Researchers from the Centenary Institute and the University of Technology Sydney have published the first study showing why people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.
The research makes mention that COPD (an inflammatory lung condition that causes airway blockage and makes breathing difficult) affects about 400 million people globally. This has led researchers to develop new drug treatments targeting relevant enzymes and pro-inflammatory responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection. According to Study Senior Author and Professor, Director of the Centenary UTS Centre for Inflammation, Phil Hansbro, this new drug could have excellent therapeutic potential in reducing the severity of COVID-19 in patients with COPD.

Source: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

Study shows why COPD patients are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19

INTERNATIONAL COVID-19 NEWS

North Korea confirms first-ever COVID-19 death

In the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, North Korea has confirmed its first COVID-19 death in May 2022 and its President Kim Jong Un was seen wearing a mask for the first time.

North Korea has been under a rigid coronavirus blockade since the start of the pandemic in 2020, but with massive Omicron outbreaks in all neighbouring countries, experts said it was only a matter of time before COVID-19 snuck in.

Various vaccine companies have offered millions of supplies of their vaccines to the country, however, the city of Pyongyang claimed it had controlled COVID-19 by sealing its borders early in January 2020.

Source: BBC & CNN

OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES NEWS

According to the World Health Organization, the monkeypox virus has been around for years. Recently, there have been over 1200 confirmed cases in countries where monkeypox is not usually found, including the European Union, United Kingdom and the United States.

The first case of monkeypox was discovered in 1958, when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease broke out.

The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox. Since then, monkeypox has been reported in people in several other central and western African countries including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone.

According to the WHO, as at 8 June 2022, 1285 laboratory-confirmed cases and one probable case have been reported to WHO from 28 countries in four WHO Regions where monkeypox is not usual or had not previously been reported with the first monkeypox case being detected in the United Kingdom in a person who had a travel history to Nigeria in early May.

The virus is spread through respiratory droplets and is mostly spread from person-to-person via close contact, touching sores or body fluids and animal contact such as close contact, touching sores or body fluids, bites or scratches and eating infected meat.

There is currently no cure for monkeypox and treatment is symptomatic. Most cases will improve within a 2 – 4 week period.

Initial symptoms of monkeypox are upper respiratory or flu-like symptoms and a prominent fever, body aches and pains, headache, and fatigue. However, they do not show up for up to two weeks after someone is infected and can progress to a rash often found on the hands, feet, face, mouth, or even genitals. These rashes transform into raised bumps or painful puss-filled red papules.

No cases of monkeypox have been detected in South Africa and specialists say a vaccine against smallpox and monkeypox has been approved but it is not yet widely available.

Source: Healthline, NICD, Visual Capitalist, WHO & BBC

Sincerely,

Kaelo

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