Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil.
William Marciel de SouzaLewis Fletcher BussDarlan da Silva CandidoJean-Paul CarreraSabrina LiAlexander Eugene ZarebskiRafael Henrique Moraes PereiraCarlos Augusto Prete JuniorAndreza Aruska de Souza-SantosKris Varun ParagMaria Carolina T D BelottiMaria F Vincenti-GonzalezJane P MessinaFlávia Cristina Silva SalesPamela Dos Santos AndradeVítor Heloiz NascimentoFabio GhilardiLeandro AbadeBernardo GutierrezMoritz U G KraemerCarlos K V BragaRenato Santana AguiarNeal D E AlexanderPhilippe MayaudOliver J BradyIzabel Oliva Marcílio de SouzaNelson GouveiaGuangdi LiAdriana TamiSilvano Barbosa de OliveiraVictor Bertollo Gomes PortoFabiana GanemWalquiria Aparecida Ferreira de AlmeidaFrancieli Fontana Sutile Tardetti FantinatoEduardo Marques MacárioWanderson Kleber de OliveiraMauricio Lacerda NogueiraOliver George PybusChieh-Hsi WuJulio Henrique da Rosa CrodaEster C SabinoNuno Rodrigues FariaPublished in: Nature human behaviour (2020)
The first case of COVID-19 was detected in Brazil on 25 February 2020. We report and contextualize epidemiological, demographic and clinical findings for COVID-19 cases during the first 3 months of the epidemic. By 31 May 2020, 514,200 COVID-19 cases, including 29,314 deaths, had been reported in 75.3% (4,196 of 5,570) of municipalities across all five administrative regions of Brazil. The R0 value for Brazil was estimated at 3.1 (95% Bayesian credible interval = 2.4-5.5), with a higher median but overlapping credible intervals compared with some other seriously affected countries. A positive association between higher per-capita income and COVID-19 diagnosis was identified. Furthermore, the severe acute respiratory infection cases with unknown aetiology were associated with lower per-capita income. Co-circulation of six respiratory viruses was detected but at very low levels. These findings provide a comprehensive description of the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil and may help to guide subsequent measures to control virus transmission.