Covid-19 deaths in Africa: prospective systematic postmortem surveillance study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To directly measure the fatal impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) in an urban African population.

Design

Prospective systematic postmortem surveillance study.

Setting

Zambia's largest tertiary care referral hospital.

Participants

Deceased people of all ages at the University Teaching Hospital morgue in Lusaka, Zambia, enrolled within 48 hours of death.

Main outcome measure

Postmortem nasopharyngeal swabs were tested via reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Deaths were stratified by covis-19 status, location, age, sex, and underlying risk factors.

Results

372 participants were enrolled between June and September 2020; PCR results

SUBMITTER: Mwananyanda L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7887952 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature