Characterization of COVID-19 cases in the early phase (March to July 2020) of the pandemic in Kenya

Kenya detected the first case of COVID-19 on March 13, 2020, and as of July 30, 2020, 17 975 cases with 285 deaths (case fatality rate (CFR) = 1.6%) had been reported. This study described the cases during the early phase of the pandemic to provide information for monitoring and response planning in...

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Published in:	Journal of global health Vol. 12; p. 15001
Main Authors:	Ngere, Philip, Onsongo, Joyce, Langat, Daniel, Nzioka, Elizabeth, Mudachi, Faith, Kadivane, Samuel, Chege, Bernard, Kirui, Elvis, Were, Ian, Mutiso, Stephen, Kibisu, Amos, Ihahi, Josephine, Mutethya, Gladys, Mochache, Trufosa, Lokamar, Peter, Boru, Waqo, Makayotto, Lyndah, Okunga, Emmanuel, Ganda, Nollascus, Haji, Adam, Gathenji, Carolyne, Kariuki, Winfred, Osoro, Eric, Kasera, Kadondi, Kuria, Francis, Aman, Rashid, Nabyonga, Juliet, Amoth, Patrick
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Scotland Edinburgh University Global Health Society 30-12-2022 International Society of Global Health
Subjects:	Aged Asymptomatic Comorbidity COVID-19 COVID-19 - epidemiology Data collection Diabetes Diarrhea Epidemics Fatalities Female Fever Global health Headaches Humans Hypertension Kenya - epidemiology Kidney diseases Male Morbidity Occupational exposure Pandemics Pandemics - prevention & control Personal information Pneumonia Public health Research Theme 11: Africa Health Systems SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Sociodemographics Variables Kenya
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Summary:	Kenya detected the first case of COVID-19 on March 13, 2020, and as of July 30, 2020, 17 975 cases with 285 deaths (case fatality rate (CFR) = 1.6%) had been reported. This study described the cases during the early phase of the pandemic to provide information for monitoring and response planning in the local context. We reviewed COVID-19 case records from isolation centres while considering national representation and the WHO sampling guideline for clinical characterization of the COVID-19 pandemic within a country. Socio-demographic, clinical, and exposure data were summarized using median and mean for continuous variables and proportions for categorical variables. We assigned exposure variables to socio-demographics, exposure, and contact data, while the clinical spectrum was assigned outcome variables and their associations were assessed. A total of 2796 case records were reviewed including 2049 (73.3%) male, 852 (30.5%) aged 30-39 years, 2730 (97.6%) Kenyans, 636 (22.7%) transporters, and 743 (26.6%) residents of Nairobi City County. Up to 609 (21.8%) cases had underlying medical conditions, including hypertension (n = 285 (46.8%)), diabetes (n = 211 (34.6%)), and multiple conditions (n = 129 (21.2%)). Out of 1893 (67.7%) cases with likely sources of exposure, 601 (31.8%) were due to international travel. There were 2340 contacts listed for 577 (20.6%) cases, with 632 contacts (27.0%) being traced. The odds of developing COVID-19 symptoms were higher among case who were aged above 60 years (odds ratio (OR) = 1.99, P = 0.007) or had underlying conditions (OR = 2.73, P < 0.001) and lower among transport sector employees (OR = 0.31, P < 0.001). The odds of developing severe COVID-19 disease were higher among cases who had underlying medical conditions (OR = 1.56, P < 0.001) and lower among cases exposed through community gatherings (OR = 0.27, P < 0.001). The odds of survival of cases from COVID-19 disease were higher among transport sector employees (OR = 3.35, P = 0.004); but lower among cases who were aged ≥60 years (OR = 0.58, P = 0.034) and those with underlying conditions (OR = 0.58, P = 0.025). The early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated a need to target the elderly and comorbid cases with prevention and control strategies while closely monitoring asymptomatic cases.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Case Study-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Review-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Feature-5 ObjectType-Article-4 ObjectType-Report-1
ISSN:	2047-2978 2047-2986
DOI:	10.7189/jogh.12.15001