Abstract
A pandemic is capable of generating a great impact, not only from the point of view of health, but also socioeconomically. In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that a new pandemic situation had arisen, due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, whose probable origin was zoonotic. The largest number of cases of this disease is concentrated in the United States of America (USA), India, and Brazil. The mortality rate is estimated at 3.4%, but regional differences may exist, and places with a high demographic density have become true epicentres and may be related to higher rates of transmission. In addition to the above, lower human development indexes (HDI) can be related to worse outcomes, especially in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil since they are the least developed places. The Northeast region is the second-most-affected place in the number of COVID-19 cases in Brazil. An analytical observational study of an ecological type was carried out from April to October 2020 to assess the epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in the state of Sergipe and specifically to analyse the incidence of cases and deaths resulting from COVID-19 in the different health regions of the state of Sergipe, in relation to the values of the HDI and demographic density. During the study period, 84,325 cases of COVID-19 were identified, in which 2205 resulted in death. In most of the regions studied, there was a positive association between the number of cases and deaths and the greater the demographic density, but there was no increase in the risk of becoming ill, nor of dying the lower the HDI. Large and crowded cities are places of greatest vulnerability to illness, due to their greater capacity of transmitting the virus; however, further studies are needed to identify other factors that are decisive in the outcomes of this new disease.
Highlights
In March 2020, a new pandemic situation was declared, caused by the new coronavirus [1]
Mortality due to COVID-19 is strongly present in the health regions of the state of Sergipe, especially in Aracaju
It was possible to verify in this study that demographic density is the main factor for a greater possibility of falling ill due to COVID-19, leading, to a greater number of infected people and deaths
Summary
In March 2020, a new pandemic situation was declared, caused by the new coronavirus [1]. CoV-type viruses belong to a family of RNA, encapsulated, with a structure similar to a crown, and are subdivided into 4 groups (Alphacoronavirus, Betacoronavirus, Gammacoronavirus, and Deltacoronavirus). This family has been responsible for two Epidemiologia 2021, 2, 262–270. Epidemiologia 2021, 2 human infections in the past: SARS-CoV in 2002 in China, and the MERS–CoV infection (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Both were related to animal reservoirs that emerged and became able to infect humans with acute respiratory disease. The countries with the highest number of cases are the United
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