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Brazilian Who Visited Italy Is Feared to Be First Coronavirus Patient in Latin America Brazilian Who Visited Italy Is First Coronavirus Patient in Latin America
(about 3 hours later)
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian officials on Wednesday were trying to confirm that a man from São Paulo who had returned recently from a business trip to Italy has the coronavirus, which would be the first known case in Latin America. RIO DE JANEIRO — A 61-year-old man from São Paulo who returned recently from a business trip to Italy has tested positive for the coronavirus, Brazilian health officials said on Wednesday, confirming the first known case in Latin America.
Officials said they were awaiting the results of a second lab test to confirm he had the virus. Officials were scrambling on Wednesday to track down the other passengers on the flight the man took to Brazil and to find others who had contact with him in recent days. The diagnosis was announced by the health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta.
The Brazilian health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, told the G1 news site that officials were hopeful that the virus would not spread briskly in Brazil given the time of year. The man was said to have traveled to northern Italy from Feb. 9-21. Although the virus originated in China, there has been a surge of cases in Italy, most notably in the northern region of Lombardy, and the illness has now spread to several countries in Europe.
“The virus behaves differently in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere,” he said. “Brazil is a country of younger people and we’re in summertime. This is a period that is not conducive for a respiratory virus.” Mr. Mandetta said Brazil’s health system had been preparing for weeks to treat coronavirus patients, saying at a news conference, “We anticipated this.”
He said the case might shed light on how the virus spreads in warmer climates. “This is a new virus,” Mr. Mandetta said, noting experts have yet to ascertain “how it behaves.”
Updated Feb. 25, 2020Updated Feb. 25, 2020
The patient is in stable condition and has been asked to remain in quarantine at home for at least 14 days, officials said. Mr. Mandetta had earlier told the G1 news site that officials were hopeful that the virus would not spread briskly in Brazil given the time of year.
“The virus behaves differently in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere,” he said. “Brazil is a country of younger people, and we’re in summertime. This is a period that is not conducive for a respiratory virus.”
The Brazilian man who tested positive sought care at Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in São Paulo on Tuesday after coming down with a fever, a cough and a sore throat. The patient is in stable condition and has been asked to remain in quarantine at home for at least 14 days, officials said.
“Medical personnel will continue to monitor him closely, as well as people who were in close contact with him,” the hospital said in a statement.“Medical personnel will continue to monitor him closely, as well as people who were in close contact with him,” the hospital said in a statement.
The possible coronavirus case in São Paulo emerged two days after a group of Brazilians who had been in quarantine after returning home from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, were found to be healthy and allowed to resume normal activities. The coronavirus case in São Paulo emerged two days after a group of Brazilians who had been in quarantine after returning home from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, were found to be healthy and allowed to resume normal activities.
José Gomes Temporão, a former health minister who oversaw Brazil’s response to the H1N1 virus in 2009 and 2010, said Brazil has a solid health surveillance system, which could enable officials to diagnose cases promptly.
But, in contrast to Mr. Mandetta’s optimism, he also cautioned that spending cuts have crippled the public health care system in recent years, leaving the government poorly prepared to grapple with an epidemic.
“We are cutting resources to public health, and we will need additional resources now,” Mr. Temporão said. “You have a government that doesn’t prioritize public health, that cuts resources to public health.”