Coronavirus: the Latin America´s advantages to combat the pandemic

Also available in: Español

Daniel García Marco

BBC News Mundo

Source: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-52013443

If health systems as those in Spain or Italy are approaching breaking point, what would happen in Latin America?

Since the first case was registered in Brazil on February 26 and the virus began to spread all around the countries, the region faces a containment phase of the coronavirus.

This has brought that Venezuela, Argentina, Peru or El Salvador, among others, took stringent measures such as quarantine, social distancing, border shutdowns, and escalation of tests.

Although we are still away from the graveness of countries like China, South Korea or Europe, the authorities warning.

“Reaching a situation like that in Italy or Spain would be something very striking and catastrophic, and we cannot rule out what is going to happen,” said to BBC Mundo Marcos Espinal, director of the Department of Communicable Diseases and Environmental Determinants of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

As of March 24, Italy records more than 60,000 coronavirus cases and more than 6,000 deaths. In Latin America the country with the most deaths is Brazil with 25 deaths. (To see the most updated WHO / PAHO data click here)

Miguel Lago, director of the Institute for Health Policy Studies (IEPS), based in Rio de Janeiro, concurs, “It is quite possible that the scenario in Italy will happen in Latin America or perhaps worse, because Italy invests in public health almost 7% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and has a stronger heath system than our countries,” said the expert to BBC Mundo, comparing this European country, for example, with Mexico, which invests just 3% of its GDP.

“We may have a scariest scenario than the one in Italy,” he warned.

But beyond the health systems shortcomings and the inequities, Latin America also has advantages to face the crisis and to have a less significant impact than other parts of the world.

Time and distance

Latin America and Africa were the latest regions to get the coronavirus, which was originated in China and from there spread to Asia and later to Europe and the United States, the areas most affected by the outbreak at this time.

The distance of Latin America from Asia and Europe, separating by oceans, allowed the region to save time.

The containment experiences adopted by China and Europe helped to take precautionary measures much earlier, which took long time to reach Italy and Spain, countries that were astonished by the exponential increase of cases.

“An advantage is the time that (the region) has had to prepare and take containment and mitigation measures,” said Dr. Espinal. Venezuela, for example, enacted country’s whole quarantine with less than 20 cases; and Argentina did the same before its fourth death was registered.

In Spain, the positive cases have risen sharply from February 25, but it was not until March 15 when the quarantine was enacted throughout the territory. This European country has more than 33,000 cases and more than 2,000 deaths.

“It will affect us (the coronavirus). The crucial thing is to minimize the possibility of large-scale outbreaks and that we implement measures that help us to control as much as possible the probability of having the situation that is happening in the United States, Italy, China or Iran,” said the PAHO expert.

Latin America “is in time to be prepared,” said Espinal.

That is its great advantage: stop the outgrowth now. Because once the virus is spread locally, health systems will be strained and the resource gaps will become more evident: adequate intensive care units, ventilators for assisted breathing, beds and protective equipment for health personnel will be required.

Experience with infectious diseases

In contrast with Europe, Latin America itself is used to dealing with infectious diseases.

The region “has vast experience in managing outbreaks and pandemics, such as H1N1 in 2009 and Zika 4-5 years ago,” recalled Espinal.

“Latin America has learned from those lessons and the countries are a little better prepared than before for these epidemics,” he added.

For example, when comes the time to control entry points to countries, such as airports, and have isolation units and laboratories ready.

“We have a complex epidemiological scenery, with systems habituated to this complexity, to caring patients with non-communicable diseases (cancer, cardiovascular, diabetes …) and infectious diseases,” said Mr. Lago, director of the Institute for Health Policy Studies.

As an example, he refers to dengue, which is registering record numbers, but also zika, chikungunya, malaria, yellow fever …

“This is a resilient region that faced Zika very successfully,” Espinal said, referring to the crisis caused by the mosquito-borne disease that especially affected Brazil.

“Emerging or re-emerging diseases are there and they are part of our daily life,” stated Espinal, who, however, warned that the coronavirus epidemic is much more serious and with still unforeseen consequences.

At that time with Zika as today with the coronavirus, society was mobilized and unified facing an outbreak that crossed borders. And information was essential, as it is at this time.

“So, people had to learn what to do with mosquito breeding sites, and now they have to learn how to manage social distancing or personal hygiene measures”, said Espinal.

“We have the technical capacity but not the resources and supplies, thus will have to see the size of the epidemic here,” warned Lago.

“If few people are infected, we have all the capacity to control it well, but if the 20% of the population is infected, which is not impossible, we are in great trouble,” he added.

Link of interest

Check updating of WHO / PAHO data regarding COVID-19:

https://who.sprinklr.com/