Is Africa prepared for tackling the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic. Lessons from past outbreaks, ongoing pan-African public health efforts, and implications for the future

Soon after the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV), was first identified in a cluster of patients with pneumonia (Li et al., 2020), in the Chinese city of Wuhan on 31 December 2019, rapid human to human transmission was anticipated (Hui et al., 2020). The fast pace of transmission is wreaking havoc and stirring media hype and public health concern (Ippolito et al., 2020) globally. When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the disease, (now officially named COVID-19) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 31st January 2020 (WHO, 2020a), the Director General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus justified the decision by stating that WHOs greatest concern was the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems. Repeated outbreaks of other preventable emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases with epidemic potential have taken their toll on the health systems of many African countries. The devastating 2014–2016 Ebola Virus Epidemic (WHO, 2020b) in West Africa, demonstrated how ill-prepared the affected countries were to rapidly identify the infection and halt transmission (WHO, 2020d, Largent, 2016, Hoffman and Silverberg, 2018, Omoleke et al., 2016). Similarly, the smoldering remnants of the 2018–19 Ebola Virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have demonstrated even for health services with considerable experience of dealing with a certain emerging pathogen, geography and sociopolitical instability, can hamper the response (Aruna et al., 2019)

A NEW SPECIES OF CLAUDOPUS FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Volume: 23Start Page: 376End Page: 37

NEW OR INTERESTING SPECIES OF CLAUDOPUS AND ENTOLOMA FROM THE PACIFIC COAST

Volume: 22Start Page: 363End Page: 37

Observations on Inocephalus virescens comb. nov. and Alboleptonia stylophora from northeastern Queensland

Inocephalus virescens (≡ Leptonia virescens, ≡ Entoloma virescens) is proposed as a new combination and reported for the first time for northeastern Queensland; Alboleptonia stylophora represents a first record for Australia. Macromorphological and micromorphological features are provided for both species

STUDIEDS IN THE RHODOPHYLLOID FUNGI. I. GENERIC CONCEPTS

Volume: 21Start Page: 32End Page: 3

Entocybe is proposed as a new genus in the Entolomataceae (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) based on morphological and molecular evidence

Morphological and molecular characteristics support the recognition of a well-defined taxonomic group within the Entolomataceae. The distinctive basidiospore form and a three locus DNA analysis separate the species that share these characteristics from other species of Entoloma s. l. We propose here a new genus, Entocybe, to accommodate these taxa