COVID-19

In biology, immunity is the balanced state of multicellular organisms having adequate biological defenses to fight infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion, while having adequate tolerance to avoid allergy, and autoimmune diseases. Supplementation is the use of pills or special types of food in order to improve your health.

COVID-19 is a member of corona viruses which cause animal diseases. This COVID-19 has made its way into human beings, with its symptoms likened to common cold in addition to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The epidemic of COVID-19 quite formidable to reckon with, due to its exponential infection rate, subjecting the entire humanity to grave vulnerability of its attack.

As the race to find drugs and medicines to cure and prevent COVID-19 reaches the crescendo, many countries including Kenya are now participating in various human clinical trials for among other experimental drugs Remdesivir, chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir + ritonavir, or with Interferonbeta. These drugs have not been approved for public use and can only be used in the context of the clinical trials in many countries. In this context, the role of drug regulation is going to be extremely important especially at the national level.

As we approach the end of April, Kenya could be host to about 500 of the probable 30,000 COVID-19 positive cases in Africa. The country has instituted drastic containment measures -nationwide curfews and complete lock down of suspected hot spot locations: Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale. The curfews and lock downs have pushed businesses (hotels, factories, offices, transport, markets etc), institutions- schools, churches and mosques; and informal occupations including fishing, trading, casual work and crafts to complete stagnation and closure.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has exposed Kenyans to state-enforced public health protocols at odds with their daily schedules. These include quarantine, curfew and cessation of movement across specific counties, including Mombasa. Put together, the three answer to isolation and containment. Whereas quarantine separates and restricts movement of people who have potentially been exposed to a contagious disease in order to limit disease spread, curfews require people to remain indoors between specified hours.

Globally, the last few weeks have been the peak of great awareness and education on COVID-19. This virus needs to be better understood from a layman’s point in order to make information easily disseminated, especially on the African continent. African countries need to provide continuous education and awareness to their populations on the need to keep social distancing, washing hands with sanitisers or soap frequently and wearing masks.

The World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. In response, governments across the world introduced a raft of measures, such as travel bans and business restrictions, to halt its spread. As efforts are underway to contain and stop its spread, the impact to businesses and economies across the world has become enormous.

A balanced diet and good nutrition are not only important as a source of energy for our active lives but are critical for our defense against disease. According to the world health organization (WHO) a healthy diet helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as noncommunicable diseases, including such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.

While there is no cure from the COVID-19 infection and indeed no food can prevent the infection, a nutritious and healthy diet rich in protective foods can boost one’s immunity and capacity to fight the infection.