A member of medical staff swabs the mouth of a resident as she is testing him for a virus, during a nationwide lockdown for 21 days to try to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Alexandra, South Africa, on March 31, 2020. (Photo: Agencies)
More than 10,000 health workers have contracted the coronavirus in the 40 African countries that have reported cases, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.
"The growth we are seeing in coronavirus cases in Africa is placing an ever-greater strain on health services across the continent," said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa.
"This has very real consequences for the individuals who work in them, and there is no more sobering example of this than the rising number of health worker infections."
The WHO said the information on health worker infections in Africa is still limited, with preliminary data indicating more than 5 percent of cases in 14 Sub-Saharan African countries alone. Additionally, in four out of the 14 countries, health workers account for more than 10 percent of all total infections.
Globally, about 10 percent of cases are among health workers, though there is a wide range between individual countries.
The WHO attributed the increasing number of cases among healthcare workers to inadequate access to personal protective equipment or weak infection prevention and control measures.
The supply shortage has been worsened by the surging global demand and travel restrictions.
The WHO said 41 million items of personal protective equipment have so far been shipped from China to cover the needs of 47 African countries.
Several governments in Africa have stated that they have adequate personal protective equipment, despite health worker lobbying groups stating otherwise.
Boaz Onchari, chair of the Kenya National Union of Nurses, attributed the increasing cases of infections among health workers in the East African country to inadequate personal protective equipment, even as the ministry of health said the country has adequate protective gear.
Zweli Mkhize, the health minister of South Africa, which has recorded over 4,000 healthcare-related infections, said the country has sufficient personal protective equipment in stock.
In addition to inadequate protective equipment, the WHO said health workers can also be exposed to patients who do not show signs of the disease and are in health facilities for a range of other services.
Risk may also arise when health personnel are repurposed for coronavirus response without adequate briefing, or because of heavy workloads which result in fatigue, burnout and possibly not fully applying standard operating procedures.
In many African countries infection prevention and control measures aimed at curbing infections in health facilities are still not fully implemented.
The WHO's assessment on measures employed at clinics and hospitals across the continent indicated that only 16 percent of the nearly 30,000 facilities surveyed had assessment scores above 75 percent.
Several health centers were found to lack the infrastructure necessary to implement key infection prevention measures, or to prevent overcrowding. Only 2,213 centers, translating to 7.8 percent, had isolation capacity and just a third had the capacity to triage patients.
"One infection among health workers is one too many. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals are our mothers, brothers and sisters," Dr. Moeti said.
"They are helping to save lives endangered by the coronavirus. We must make sure that they have the equipment, skills and information they need to keep themselves, their patients and colleagues safe."
Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire have been able to reduce infections through the help of the WHO and partners.
Sierra Leone managed to reduce healthcare coronavirus infections from 16 percent two months ago to 9 percent. Cote d'Ivoire on the other hand, reduced their figure from 6.1 percent to 1.4 percent.
So far, Africa has reported over 770,000 total coronavirus cases and more than 16,000 deaths.