Epidemiological Chronicle of the First Recovered Coronavirus Disease Patient From Panama: Evidence of Early Cluster Transmission in a High School of Panama City

Frontiers in Public Health

K. S. Rao¹  Rolando A. Gittens¹  Jose C. Rojas²  Jose R. Loaiza³  Augusto Hernandez⁵  Paul Muñoz⁵  Julio Sandoval⁶  Gilberto A. Eskildsen⁶ 

[1] Centro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Panama City, Panama;Colegio Monseñor Francisco Beckmann, Panama City, Panama;Programa Centroamericano de Maestría en Entomología, Universidad de Panamá, Panama City, Panama;Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama;Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos, Complejo Hospitalario Doctor Arnulfo Arias Madrid, Caja de Seguro Social (CSS), Panama City, Panama;Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos, Ministerio de Salud de Panamá (MINSA), Panama City, Panama;

关键词: epidemiological investigation;    SARS-CoV-2;    COVID-19;    anosmia;    dysgeusia;    Panama City;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2020.553730

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The first patient infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Panama was reported on March 9, 2020. Here, we describe the first case of recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country. The patient was a 49-year-old male high school teacher, who did not show any primary symptoms of COVID-19 described by health authorities as the signs for medical attention. Nonetheless, he became severely ill over the course of 2 weeks and almost lost the battle against COVID-19. The identification of the first cluster of SARS-CoV-2 community transmission in the secondary school where the patient of this case report taught, led to the closure of the school and, a day after, the shutdown of the national education system, which may have prevented the spread and slowed the transmission rate of COVID-19 during the early stages of invasion. This case report highlights the need to increase awareness among healthcare professionals in Latin America to consider symptoms such as anosmia and dysgeusia as the sentinel signs of COVID-19 infection in order to prevent deaths, especially in high-risk patients.

【 授权许可】

Unknown