tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Travel Med Infect Dis. 2020 Apr 2:101653. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101653. [Epub ahead of print]
Clinical features of cases and a cluster of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Bolivia imported from Italy and Spain.
Escalera-Antezana JP[SUP]1[/SUP], Lizon-Ferrufino NF[SUP]2[/SUP], Maldonado-Alanoca A[SUP]3[/SUP], Alarc?n-De-la-Vega G[SUP]4[/SUP], Alvarado-Arnez LE[SUP]5[/SUP], Balderrama-Saavedra MA[SUP]5[/SUP], Bonilla-Aldana DK[SUP]6[/SUP], Rodr?guez-Morales AJ[SUP]7[/SUP]; LANCOVID[SUP]8[/SUP].
Author information
Abstract
INTRODUCTION:
In March 2020, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) arrived in Bolivia. Here, we report the main clinical findings, and epidemiological features of the first series of cases, and a cluster, confirmed in Bolivia.
METHODS:
For this observational, retrospective and cross-sectional study, information was obtained from the Hospitals and the Ministry of Health for the cases that were laboratory-diagnosed and related, during March 2020. rRT-PCR was used for the detection of the RNA of SARS-CoV-2 following the protocol Charit?, Berlin, Germany, from nasopharyngeal swabs.
RESULTS:
Among 152 suspected cases investigated, 12 (7.9%) were confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 infected by rRT-PCR. The median age was 39 years (IQR 25-43), six of them male. Two cases proceed from Italy and three from Spain. Nine patients presented fever, and cough, five sore throat, and myalgia, among other symptoms. Only a 60 y-old woman with hypertension was hospitalized. None of the patients required ICU nor fatalities occurred in this group.
CONCLUSIONS:
This is the first report of surveillance of COVID-19 in Bolivia, with patients managed mainly with home isolation. Preparedness for a significant epidemic, as is going on in other countries, and the deployment of response plans for it, in the country is now taking place to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the population.
Copyright ? 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
KEYWORDS:
Bolivia; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Epidemiology; Latin America; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
PMID:32247926DOI:10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101653
Clinical features of cases and a cluster of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Bolivia imported from Italy and Spain.
Escalera-Antezana JP[SUP]1[/SUP], Lizon-Ferrufino NF[SUP]2[/SUP], Maldonado-Alanoca A[SUP]3[/SUP], Alarc?n-De-la-Vega G[SUP]4[/SUP], Alvarado-Arnez LE[SUP]5[/SUP], Balderrama-Saavedra MA[SUP]5[/SUP], Bonilla-Aldana DK[SUP]6[/SUP], Rodr?guez-Morales AJ[SUP]7[/SUP]; LANCOVID[SUP]8[/SUP].
Author information
Abstract
INTRODUCTION:
In March 2020, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) arrived in Bolivia. Here, we report the main clinical findings, and epidemiological features of the first series of cases, and a cluster, confirmed in Bolivia.
METHODS:
For this observational, retrospective and cross-sectional study, information was obtained from the Hospitals and the Ministry of Health for the cases that were laboratory-diagnosed and related, during March 2020. rRT-PCR was used for the detection of the RNA of SARS-CoV-2 following the protocol Charit?, Berlin, Germany, from nasopharyngeal swabs.
RESULTS:
Among 152 suspected cases investigated, 12 (7.9%) were confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 infected by rRT-PCR. The median age was 39 years (IQR 25-43), six of them male. Two cases proceed from Italy and three from Spain. Nine patients presented fever, and cough, five sore throat, and myalgia, among other symptoms. Only a 60 y-old woman with hypertension was hospitalized. None of the patients required ICU nor fatalities occurred in this group.
CONCLUSIONS:
This is the first report of surveillance of COVID-19 in Bolivia, with patients managed mainly with home isolation. Preparedness for a significant epidemic, as is going on in other countries, and the deployment of response plans for it, in the country is now taking place to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the population.
Copyright ? 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
KEYWORDS:
Bolivia; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Epidemiology; Latin America; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
PMID:32247926DOI:10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101653