Challenges in establishing telehealth care during the COVID-19 pandemic in a neglected HTLV-1-infected population in northeastern Brazil

Abstract

The novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its corresponding Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) first appeared in China in December 2019 as a cluster of atypical severe pneumonia cases Rapid viral spread occurred worldwide, causing tremendous impacts on human health and global economies. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international importance on January 30, 2020, followed by pandemic status on March 11 Although SARS-CoV-2 reached Latin America later than Europe, the number of cases has quickly and steadily risen in the region. The first case of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Brazil and in Latin America was reported in So Paulo on February 25, 2020. The virus has since spread throughout the country, first in the Southeast (So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) and then the North (Amazonas and Para ) and the Northeast (Pernambuco and Ceara ). In the initial phase of the epidemic, Brazil presented 1 of the highest rates of SARS-CoV-2 transmission (R0 = 2.81) in the world Bahia, the most populous state in the northeast, with the fourth largest population size in Brazil, reported its first case of SARS-CoV-2 infection on March 6.