Will the Colombian intensive care units collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Abstract

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Spatial Distribution of COVID-19 in Honduras at the Early Phase of the Pandemic Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)<strong> </strong>

“…The GIS-based maps allow to see that the epidemic in the country is affecting mostly those urban populated centers, such as San Pedro Sula, and surrounding municipalities and the capital district, Tegucigalpa, and its neighbouring areas ( Figure 6). This is similar to the observed situation in other countries of Latin America, such as Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia and Mexico (11,13,18,49), although so far, no studies using GIS have been published from these countries.…”

“…Among the affected regions due to COVID-19 so far, is included Latin America (7)(8)(9)(10), where some studies already have reflected the negative impact of this pandemic (11)(12)(13). This region has been the epicenter of other emerging epidemics from other viral pathogens since December 2013 (14), such as the case of vector-borne viruses, as chikungunya (CHIKV) (15), Zika (ZIKV) (16) and dengue (DENV) (17).…”

Dengue and COVID‐19, overlapping epidemics? An analysis from Colombia

“…Other arboviral diseases, such as Chikungunya and Zika have caused recent epidemics in Colombia, with reported cases of coinfection with DENV. 24 As both COVID-19 and dengue may lead to fatal outcomes, especially in patients with chronic co-morbidities, overlapping infections and their co-occurrence may increase the number of patients requiring intensive care and mechanical ventilation, 25 as suggested for other countries in Latin America. 7 In regions, such as Valle del Cauca, intensified preparation for such scenarios should be considered, and further studies should be performed to address this critical topic promptly to reduce the potential overburden of the national healthcare system.…”

Potential negative effects of the free use of chloroquine to manage COVID‐19 in Colombia

“…On the other hand, a "kill two birds with one stone" approach would be favorable in particular epidemiological settings such as COVID‐19 and malaria overlapping areas. This is the case of the Colombian Amazon department—the 7th most affected by COVID‐19 and one of the five Colombian departments without ICU services 18 —where long‐time prevalent malaria 15 and the abrupt increase in COVID‐19 cases 19 have started to overlap. Capitalizing on the use of CQ to treat both conditions could result in advantageous and is definitely a topic that deserves further investigation.…”