SARS cases show upward trend in Brazil: Fiocruz survey

The cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) tend to increase in number in 25 of all 27 Brazilian states, as per the Infrogripe report, released Tuesday (Jan. 25) by Brazil’s research foundation Fiocruz. The trend was observed in both short- and long-term assessments, which consider the past three and six weeks respectively.

Surveying capitals alone, the report says that 23 show a long-term growth trend.

The study notes that the signs of growth have been steady since early in December. Unlike other movements during the pandemic, in which SARS-CoV-2 was responsible for over 90 percent of SARS cases with viral infection confirmed, in the last four epidemiological weeks Influenza A was accountable for 23.4 percent of viral cases of SARS, whereas the coronavirus was the cause of 65.2 percent.

The surge in cases associated with Influenza A at the end of November and in December— actually outnumbering COVID-19 reports in some of these weeks—has been labeled significant by the researchers.