In light of the emerging data, we discuss issues to be considered as health systems systematize their responses. We are not trying to predict the future, but rather, present potential scenarios. Herein, we provide the perspective of the ICESP, a publically funded tertiary referral cancer center in Brazil. The current editorial does not represent institutional or governmental positions. Formal policies take time to receive official approval. … Read More →

In the absence of prior immunity in the human population and with no vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, its highly virulent nature means that case numbers grow exponentially. Nonpharmaceutical interventions are indicated in this context, aimed at inhibiting transmission between humans, slowing the spread of the disease and consequently reducing and delaying the peak of its occurrence on the epidemiological curve. … Read More →

“Is my son at risk in view of COVID-19?” A patient’s mother contacted our Schizophrenia Outpatient Clinic as soon as news about the coronavirus pandemic reached Brazilian headlines. I immediately remembered how we hear in mental health services that “patients with severe mental illness are immune deficient.” But is this true? What are the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for schizophrenia patients and their families? … Read More →

Considering the recommendations for social isolation currently imposed in different countries, it is fundamental to encourage the population to maintain a physically active lifestyle routine as a preventative health measure during this period of confronting the spread of the virus. During periods of confinement at home, the population tends to adopt a sedentary routine, which favors increased body weight gain, as well as the emergence of comorbidities associated with greater cardiovascular risk, in addition to psychosocial disorders. … Read More →

As we celebrate World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24th and as we draw close to the first milestone, in 2020, of the World Health Organization’s new tuberculosis control strategy, known as the End TB Strategy, it is fitting to examine the dimensions of the TB situation in Brazil in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agent of which is coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. … Read More →

Even before the first COVID-19 cases were identified in Brazil, the country had articulated several measures ranging from the creation of ordinances and laws, to isolation and quarantine. However, the number of cases has increased significantly, requiring new measures, mainly to reduce mortality and worsening of cases. A socialized unified health system (UHS) and the fact that countries in Latin America were among the last ones with reported COVID-19 outbreaks have contributed to anticipated actions. … Read More →

The rapid increase in clinical cases of the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, suggests high transmissibility. However, the estimates of the basic reproductive number reported in the literature vary widely. Considering this, we drew the function of contact-rate reduction required to control the transmission from both detectable and undetectable sources. Based on this, we offer a set of recommendations for symptomatic and asymptomatic populations during the current pandemic. Understanding the dynamics of transmission is essential to support government decisions and improve the community’s adherence to preventive measures. … Read More →

We have observed an increase in requests of chest computed tomography (CT) since the first records of cases in Brazil. It is crucial to highlight that the definite diagnosis of COVID-19 is made by RT-PCR, and a normal chest CT does not rule out diagnosis. However, currently, the RT-PCR result has taken longer than CT reports to be available, so CT has taken an important role in a comprehensive assessment of patients for demonstrating high sensitivity (although low specificity), to detect the most frequent pulmonary findings of the disease. … Read More →

The fourth update of the Pandemic Influenza Plan prepared by the US Department of Health and Human Services, from 2017, included measures for different government and civil society areas. In addition, in order for the response to be proportional to the severity of the situation, it uses the Pandemic Severity Assessment Framework as a risk assessment tool, proposing two assessment dimensions: transmissibility and clinical severity. … Read More →

Various scientific journals in Brazil have published studies on the impact of primary healthcare (PHC) on the population’s health, including in identifying the limits and conditions for improvement in the current context. However, rather than improving the PHC proposal, there have been mass layoffs. Scientists have also decried the underfinancing of SUS, including the impacts of a fiscal austerity policy that has cut essential budget funding from the social and health areas. … Read More →

Although Brazil is experiencing the pandemic’s initial effects, the discussion on the country’s food security situation and its interfaces is of the utmost urgency, based on what has already happened in Europe. The food industry is facing numerous uncertainties, with limited orientation on food production, distribution, marketing, or home preparation of meals. … Read More →

Chloroquine was unequivocally demonstrated to have in vitro inhibiting effects on SARS-CoV-2 infection and was precociously publicized as having a beneficial effect in COVID-19 patients after a study conducted in Marseille, France showed a viral load reduction in COVID-19 patients. Since there is no specific antiviral therapy for coronavirus infections to date, the announcement of partial and fragile data led to precipitated political manifestations by major government leaders and contributed to uncoordinated recommendations of the drug to severe patients. … Read More →

In times of fear and uncertainty, when threats to survival become one of the main issues of daily life, many believe that mental health care can wait and that efforts should focus on preserving life. However, mental health is precisely one of the keys to surviving this pandemic. This editorial lists some topics we believe are particularly worthy of attention and deserve full consideration both by health care workers and by the general population. … Read More →

Based on an interdisciplinary approach, the article makes a social historical reading of the epidemics in the world and their impacts on human life, punctuating the differences with the so-called Covid-19. The proliferation of the virus has forced a radical change in the daily lives of populations on a global level, suggesting that it is possible to act collectively to create future worlds. The radical action of isolation against the virus has demonstrated relevant impacts with respect to the climate emergency, at a time when it reveals the impacts of denialism, the interests and limits of capitalism and the financial market in the epidemic crisis. … Read More →