COVID-19 mimics endemic tropical diseases at an early stage: a report of two symptomatic COVID-19 patients treated in a Polymerase chain reaction void zone in Cameroon

Abstract

At the end of December 2019, they emerged a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), triggering a pandemic of an acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19) in humans. We report the relevant features of the first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded from the 29^th April 2020 in the Far North Region of Cameroon. We did a review of the files of these two patients who were admitted to the internal medicine ward of a medical Centre in Maroua Town, Far North Region. We present 2 cases of symptomatic COVID-19 patients, both males and health personnel, with an average age of 53 years, with no recent history of travel to a COVID-19 zone at risk and working in a then COVID-19 free region. They presented with extreme fatigue as their main symptom. Both were treated initially for severe malaria with quinine sulfate infusion with initial relief of symptoms. In the first confirmed case, at his re-hospitalization with an acute respiratory syndrome, a Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in search of SARS-COV-2 was requested with his results available 7 days into admission. For the second case, he had his results 48 hours on admission while he was prepared to be discharged. Both control PCR tests for COVID-19 came back negative 14 days after hospitalization. Health personnel remains a group at risk for the COVID-19 infection. The clinical manifestation at an early stage may be atypical mimicking endemic tropical infections. Also, the therapeutic potential of quinine salts in the relief of symptoms of COVID-19 is questionable and remains a subject to explore in our context.