ArticleInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2023
Quantifying excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in The Gambia: a time-series analysis of three health and demographic surveillance systems.
Article in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Excess mortality and associated sociodemographic factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Pune Maharashtra, India: a retrospective data analysis from the Vadu health and demographic surveillance system.Population health metrics · 2026Review
- Patterns and determinants of COVID-19 mortality in Bangladesh: insights from three health and demographic surveillance systems across diverse socio-environmental settings.Population health metrics · 2026Article
- Rethinking the evidence on COVID-19 in Africa.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2025Review
- Compartmentalised mucosal and blood immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is associated with high seroprevalence before the Delta wave in Africa.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- An assessment of excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic, a retrospective post-mortem surveillance in 12 districts - Zambia, 2020-2022.BMC public health · 2024Article
- High SARS-CoV-2 incidence and asymptomatic fraction during Delta and Omicron BA.1 waves in The Gambia.Nature communications · 2024Article
- High SARS-CoV-2 seroincidence but low excess COVID mortality in Sierra Leone in 2020-2022.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Effect of distributing locally produced cloth facemasks on COVID-19-like illness and all-cause mortality-a cluster-randomised controlled trial in urban Guinea-Bissau.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on mortality in coastal Kenya: a longitudinal open cohort study.Nature communications · 2023Article
- SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in pregnant women during the first three COVID-19 waves in The Gambia.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2023Article
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17 authors.
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Abstract
objectivesEstimates for COVID-19-related excess mortality for African populations using local data are needed to design and implement effective control policies.
methodsWe applied time-series analysis using data from three health and demographic surveillance systems in The Gambia (Basse, Farafenni, and Keneba) to examine pandemic-related excess mortality during 2020, when the first SARS-CoV-2 wave was observed, compared to the pre-pandemic period (2016-2019).
resultsAcross the three sites, average mortality during the pre-pandemic period and the total deaths during 2020 were 1512 and 1634, respectively (Basse: 1099 vs 1179, Farafenni: 316 vs 351, Keneba: 98 vs 104). The overall annual crude mortality rates per 100,000 (95% CI) were 589 (559, 619) and 599 (571, 629) for the pre-pandemic and 2020 periods, respectively. The adjusted excess mortality rate was 8.8 (-34.3, 67.6) per 100,000 person-month with the adjusted rate ratio (aRR) = 1.01 (0.94,1.11). The age-stratified analysis showed excess mortality in Basse for infants (aRR = 1.22 [1.04, 1.46]) and in Farafenni for the 65+ years age group (aRR = 1.19 [1, 1.44]).
conclusionWe did not find significant excess overall mortality in 2020 in The Gambia. However, some age groups may have been at risk of excess death. Public health response in countries with weak health systems needs to consider vulnerable age groups and the potential for collateral damage.
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