RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Infogripe’s weekly report published by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) shows that 97.7% of the occurrences of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) reported in the country in 2020 and with a positive test for a viral infection occurred as a result of Covid-19. According to the researchers involved in the study, the data released December 3rd, also show that the disease is advancing.
“The record of growth that has been observed across the country during the month of November suggests the need for increased care throughout the month of December. Awareness and prevention measures must be taken to ensure that the traditional crowds in trade and end-of-year celebrations do not worsen the current picture,” the report warns.
The study provides an overview for the next three weeks (short-term) and the next six weeks (long-term). Of the 27 capitals, 13 record moderate or sharp signs of growth in the long-term trend: Campo Grande, Curitiba, Goiânia, Maceió, Palmas , Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Cuiabá, Manaus, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, São Luís and São Paulo.
In only four states, the short and long-term trends show signs of decline or stabilization in all their health macro-regions: Acre, Amapá, Roraima and Sergipe. This also occurs in the Federal District.
All regions of the country have been classified as risk zones, with very high occurrence in the epidemiological week between November 22nd and 28th.
Infogripe considers SARS notifications registered in Sivep-gripe, an information system operated by the Ministry of Health and fed by states and municipalities. The new edition is based on data entered up to Monday, November 30th.
SARS is a respiratory complication often associated with the worsening of some viral infection. Patients may present respiratory discomfort and a drop in oxygen saturation level, among other symptoms.
SARS notifications in 2020 increased due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), Sars-CoV-2 pandemic.
Last year, 39,400 cases were reported. This year, there are now 584,176, of which 54.8% had a laboratory result pointing to the presence of some respiratory virus.
Among the occurrences with a positive test for viral infection, SARS cases were associated not only with the novel coronavirus (97.7%), but also with the influenza A virus (0.4%), respiratory syncytial virus (0.4%) and influenza B virus (0.2%). When considering cases that resulted in death, 99.3% are linked to the novel coronavirus.
This year, 141,351 deaths from SARS have been recorded. In 2019 there were 3,811.
Sorce: Agência Brasil