Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Variants and Disease Outcome of COVID-19 Patients in the Amazonas Region of Peru

Campos C.J.; Pajuelo-Reyes C.; Rojas L.M.; De La Cruz-Vargas J.A.; Tejedo J.R.; Tapia-Limonchi R.; Tsukayama P.; Chenet S.M. · American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (2023) · DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0739

Resumen

Peru was severely affected by COVID-19 with a fatality rate that reached up to 6%. In this study, the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 variants and COVID-19 disease outcome in Amazonas, a region of northeastern Peru, was evaluated. The variants were determined by genomic sequencing, and clinical-epidemiological data were collected from 590 patients between April 2021 and February 2022. There was no association between mortality and hospitalization with any of the variants, but we did find that Omicron is more likely to infect vaccinated and nonvaccinated people. A significant association was also found between unvaccinated patients and hospitalization. Interestingly, in the indigenous population, there were fewer hospitalizations than in the general population. In conclusion, SARS-CoV-2 variants were not associated with the disease outcome in the Amazonas region, and indigenous population were found to be less vulnerable to severe COVID-19 illness. Copyright

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia; Universidad Ricardo Palma; Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas