Title
Malaria Situation in the Peruvian Amazon during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Date Issued
01 November 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Publisher(s)
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Abstract
The Peruvian Ministry of Health reports a near absence of malaria cases in the Amazon region during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the rapid increase in SARS-CoV-2 infections has overwhelmed the Peruvian health system, leading to national panic and closure of public medical facilities, casting doubt on how accurately malaria cases’ numbers reflect reality. In the Amazon region of Loreto, where malaria cases are concentrated, COVID-19 has led to near-complete closure of the primary healthcare system, and diagnosis and treatment of acute febrile illnesses, including malaria, has plummeted. Here, we describe the potential association of COVID-19 with a markedly reduced number of reported malaria cases due to the reduced control activities carried out by the Peruvian Malaria Zero Program, which could lead to malaria resurgence and an excess of morbidity and mortality.
Start page
1773
End page
1776
Volume
103
Issue
5
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Epidemiología
Políticas de salud, Servicios de salud
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85095862497
PubMed ID
Source
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
ISSN of the container
00029637
Sponsor(s)
Acknowledgments: This work was supported by U.S. Public Health Service grants from the National Institutes of Health, U19AI089681, “Amazonian Center of Excellence in Malaria Research, and D43TW007120, “Translational Research Development for Endemic Infectious Diseases of Amazonia.” Publication charges for this article were waived due to the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus