Epidemiological, socio-demographic and clinical features of the early phase of the COVID-19 epidemic in Ecuador.

• Published in: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Esteban Ortiz-Prado, Katherine Simbaña-Rivera, Lenin Gómez Barreno, Ana Maria Diaz, Alejandra Barreto, Carla Moyano, Vannesa Arcos, Eduardo Vásconez-González, Clara Paz, Fernanda Simbaña-Guaycha, Martin Molestina-Luzuriaga, Raúl Fernández-Naranjo, Javier Feijoo, Aquiles R Henriquez-Trujillo, Lila Adana, Andrés López-Cortés, Isabel Fletcher, Rachel Lowe
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008958; https://doaj.org/article/d68391c18b4049d1b838b9bda76ed4b2

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread rapidly around the globe. Nevertheless, there is limited information describing the characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients in Latin America. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 9,468 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Ecuador. We calculated overall incidence, mortality, case fatality rates, disability adjusted life years, attack and crude mortality rates, as well as relative risk and relative odds of death, adjusted for age, sex and presence of comorbidities. A total of 9,468 positive COVID-19 cases and 474 deaths were included in the analysis. Men accounted for 55.4% (n = 5, 247) of cases and women for 44.6% (n = 4, 221). We found the presence of comorbidities, being male and older than 65 years were important determinants of mortality. Coastal regions were most affected by COVID-19, with higher mortality rates than the highlands. Fatigue was reported in 53.2% of the patients, followed by headache (43%), dry cough (41.7%), ageusia (37.1%) and anosmia (36.1%). We present an analysis of the burden of COVID-19 in Ecuador. Our findings show that men are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than women, and risk increases with age and the presence of comorbidities. We also found that blue-collar workers and the unemployed are at greater risk of dying. These early observations offer clinical insights for the medical community to help improve patient care and for public health officials to strengthen Ecuador's response to the outbreak.