Does the ''afectar'' need to use with the article "a"?

Question

Puzzling! Why he added "a" behind "afectar"?

Desde un libro llamado"西班牙语专四高频词汇快速突破1000题" de China.

Aunque esté ocurriendo en los Estados Unidos, también podría afectar a Europa.

Answer 1

Fundéu says:

Afectar, como otros verbos que significan daño o provecho, admiten la construcción con a delante de objetos directos de persona o de cosa

So the verb afectar is an exception to the usual rule that transitive verbs use "a" when the direct object is a person and no "a" when it is a thing. In the case of afectar, using "a" for all direct objects (persons or things) is correct, and is the most common usage in Spain. In Latin America, omitting "a" for things seems to be more common.