China News Service, April 28. According to the South American Overseas Chinese News Network, on February 25, a 61-year-old entrepreneur who returned from Italy became the first new case of new pneumonia diagnosed in Brazil. However, according to the judgment of some medical experts, this patient is unlikely to be Brazil's "patient zero" (ie, the first patient to get an infectious disease and begin to spread the virus), and the first infected patient in Brazil may be difficult to find .
According to reports, in the case of Brazil's new coronary pneumonia cases increased exponentially, scholars believe that it is difficult to determine the first case in Brazil. The reasons include: there are a large number of asymptomatic people, the lack of guidance before the first case is found, and it may be confused with other respiratory diseases.
On April 12, local time, the statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was put on a "white coat", and the sculpture thanked the medical staff working in the front line against the new crown pneumonia in multiple languages.
Why is the first case in Brazil difficult to find?
In early April, information released by the Brazilian Ministry of Health caused controversy over Brazil ’s first new case of coronary pneumonia. The Ministry of Health said at the time that Brazil ’s first new case of pneumococcal pneumonia was recorded in Minas Gerais on January 23, which was about two months earlier than the first official recorded death. However, the Ministry of Health corrected the data the next day, saying that the deaths were actually recorded on March 23, and there was an error in typing.
In correcting this news, the then Brazilian Minister of Health Mandeta said at a press conference that the new coronavirus may have spread in Brazil in December 2019 or January this year.
Anna Freitas Ribeiro, an epidemiological service doctor at the Emílio Ribas Institute, said that another reason that prevented Brazil from finding its first case was that the initial Ministry of Health guidelines only investigated travelers who developed symptoms. Studies have shown that in some age groups, the proportion of asymptomatic patients may reach 70%, of which young people account for the majority.
In addition, Brazil's initial new case of coronary pneumonia is likely to be confused with patients with other respiratory diseases. According to data from the Brazilian Fiocruz Foundation, between February and March, the number of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome in Brazil was higher than in the same period in history. Davis Ferreira, a virologist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said that before finding the first case, they may have been treated like other patients with respiratory syndrome.
Why is it important to find "Patient Zero"?
On February 25, the day when Brazil discovered the first new coronary pneumonia case, it was considered an important milestone in Brazil's fight against the new crown epidemic. Since then, the Brazilian authorities have begun to take more favorable anti-epidemic measures.
Experts emphasized that it is very important to find out if the 61-year-old entrepreneur has been infected before, because this will change the trajectory of the new crown epidemic in Brazil. This finding can confirm that in addition to the cases that have been found so far, there are more cases in Brazil, and that some patients with new coronary pneumonia may be diagnosed as other respiratory diseases.
How to find "Patient Zero"?
In the study of the origin of Brazil's new coronavirus, one of the first ways to find an infected person was to conduct an antibody test. "We can perform antibody testing on all cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome before February." Anna Freitas said.
Brazil ’s antibody testing is still in its preliminary stages. According to experts, research on the origin of Brazil's new coronavirus will continue to progress, especially after large-scale antibody testing.
In addition, obtaining genetic samples from patients with New Coronary Pneumonia and genetically sequencing the virus is also considered necessary to study the origin of the New Coronavirus in Brazil.
In Brazil, researchers from many places are trying to sequence the virus. The Adolf Lutz Institute in Brazil and the University of São Paulo ’s Institute for Tropical Studies previously sequenced two confirmed cases of viruses in Brazil, and found that the two had different viral genomes. The British are more similar.
However, to date, there have been very few cases sequenced and the investigation is facing difficulties, which hinders further research on the origin of Brazil's new coronavirus.