I spent months in SierraLeone during the biggest #Ebola outbreak in history & I've just caught up with doctors I met who are now fighting #coronavirus. Lots of interesting comparisons to that outbreak -- and to the USA -- in my latest piece @NatureNews. nature.com/articles/d4158…
Some African researchers I talked w/were surprised that the CDC—so helpful during #Ebola—seems sorta powerless in the US. “I was shocked to see the US struggling to understand what contact tracing is, to organize a response, to put in place risk communication,” said @NyenswahG.
Another twist is that because many cases are mild or asymptomatic due to the young population in Liberia, SierraLeone & Guinea (3% of people >65), a lot of people might be taking this less seriously than public health authorities wish. (Btw this photo is worth 1000 words.) 
A sad similarity to the #Ebola response is that many healthworkers don't have protective gear or regular pay. A brave nurse I met during Ebola worked regardless & unbelievably continues now. This is Issa French standing beside memorials for his colleagues killed by Ebola.
The head of the @AfricaCDC @JNkengasong hopes these 3 countries—among the poorest—continue to deploy public health responses w/all their might. They've done a better job than the US & many other countries so far. But scaling up could be impossible & the economic toll unbearable.
