Covid cases grow in SP and three more states, points out Fiocruz

The number of cases of Covid-19 increased again in the adult population of the states of São Paulo, Amazonas, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul, reported this Thursday (10) in the new InfoGripe bulletin, from Fiocruz.

According to the coordinator of the survey, Marcelo Gomes, it is still not possible to say that this growth is specifically related to the recent identification of new sublines of the ômicron in some parts of the country.

The report informs that the increase in cases is more noticeable in the age group from 18 years old. The exception is Rio Grande do Sul, which shows this trend only after 60 years of age.

“As laboratory data take longer to enter the system, it is expected that the numbers of cases in recent weeks will be greater than what was observed in this update, and may even increase the number of states in such a situation”, explains the Fiocruz researcher.

Gomes highlights the possibility that Covid-19 has two peaks of cases during the year, unlike other respiratory diseases.

“Unlike influenza [vírus da gripe] and other respiratory viruses with typically a peak per year, Covid-19 may be heading towards a reality in which we have to live with two moments of increased circulation”, reinforces Gomes.

In the last four epidemiological weeks, the survey shows that the positive result for respiratory viruses was 14.8% for influenza A; 0.5% for influenza B; 26.1% for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV); and 36.9% for Sars-CoV-2 (Covid-19).

Among the deaths, the presence of these same viruses among the positives was 10.4% for influenza A; 0.0% for influenza B; 0.0% for RSV; and 74.6% Sars-CoV-2 (Covid-19).

Another point of the bulletin highlights that the increase in cases of Covid-19 caused a drop in the incidence of flu in São Paulo. Distrito Federal and Mato Grosso do Sul, which had also shown an increase in influenza, maintain a reduction in this virus without having had a significant impact on SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

Ten of the 27 federative units show moderate SARS growth in the long term trend: Alagoas, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Goiás, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Rio de Janeiro. In most of these states, growth is primarily concentrated among children and adolescents.

In the states of Alagoas, Amazonas, Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco, however, growth also occurred in the adult population and in age groups over 60 years. In Amazonas and Rio de Janeiro, it is possible to observe an increase in positive cases for Covid-19 in the adult population, suggesting an association with the increase in cases of SARS indicated.

In other states, laboratory data still do not allow inferring whether there is a predominance of a specific virus in this recent increase trend. In Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo, there is also an increase in positive cases for Covid-19 in the adult population, but without reflecting in an increase in SARS cases in the state aggregate until the present update.