ArticleEpidemiology and infection2019
Infectious disease outbreaks in the African region: overview of events reported to the World Health Organization in 2018.
Article in Epidemiology and infection, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 57 papers.
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Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 78 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Patterns of Infectious Disease Identified in Clinical Autopsy at a South African Tertiary Care Setting: A 10-Year Retrospective Study.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Occupational Infection Prevention Among Nurses and Laboratory Technicians Amidst Multiple Health Emergencies in Outbreak-Prone Country, D.R. Congo.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2026Article
- Reporting trends and seasonality in the World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News (DONs) across 1996-2023.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- A narrative review of heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes and vaccine efficacy: strategizing pandemic preparedness in Africa.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Preparedness of the Ghana Health Service for field epidemiology and applied biostatistics: a systematic review protocol of infectious disease surveillance, outbreak investigation methodologies, and statistical modeling capacities in resource-limited settings.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Acceptability, feasibility and perceived benefits of integrating mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) into disease outbreak response in Western Uganda: a qualitative process evaluation study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- The role of health promotion practitioners during disease outbreaks in the OR Tambo District, South Africa.Journal of public health in Africa · 2026Article
- A global analysis of quarantine and isolation policies governing outbreak responses.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Community perceptions of yellow fever and its treatment practices in regions with reported outbreaks in Uganda: A qualitative study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- An assessment of the progress made in the implementation of the regional framework for cholera prevention and control in the WHO African region.BMJ global health · 2025Review
- A capacity strengthening model toward self-reliant and sustainable one-health workforce in six East African Community Partner States.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Technological trends in epidemic intelligence for infectious disease surveillance: a systematic literature review.PeerJ. Computer science · 2025Article
- Time to control of anthrax outbreaks in Africa, 2014-2023: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Modelling the drivers of outbreak communication in online media news for improved event-based surveillance.PloS one · 2025Article
- A recent history of disease outbreaks in Kenya, 2007-2022: Findings from routine surveillance data.BMC research notes · 2024Article
- A scoping review of cultural issues concerning institutional quarantine and isolation during major multi-country outbreaks in Africa: 2000-2023.Health science reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Methodological Approaches for Measuring the Association Between Heat Exposure and Health Outcomes: A Comprehensive Global Scoping Review.GeoHealth · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The WHO African region is characterised by the largest infectious disease burden in the world. We conducted a retrospective descriptive analysis using records of all infectious disease outbreaks formally reported to the WHO in 2018 by Member States of the African region. We analysed the spatio-temporal distribution, the notification delay as well as the morbidity and mortality associated with these outbreaks. In 2018, 96 new disease outbreaks were reported across 36 of the 47 Member States. The most commonly reported disease outbreak was cholera which accounted for 20.8% (n = 20) of all events, followed by measles (n = 11, 11.5%) and Yellow fever (n = 7, 7.3%). About a quarter of the outbreaks (n = 23) were reported following signals detected through media monitoring conducted at the WHO regional office for Africa. The median delay between the disease onset and WHO notification was 16 days (range: 0-184). A total of 107 167 people were directly affected including 1221 deaths (mean case fatality ratio (CFR): 1.14% (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07%-1.20%)). The highest CFR was observed for diseases targeted for eradication or elimination: 3.45% (95% CI 0.89%-10.45%). The African region remains prone to outbreaks of infectious diseases. It is therefore critical that Member States improve their capacities to rapidly detect, report and respond to public health events.
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