The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: A syndemic perspective

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has affected communities, populations, and countries throughout the world. As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic developed, the extent to which the disease interacted with already existing endemic, non-communicable and infectious diseases became evident, hence deeply influencing health...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Inês Fronteira, Mohsin Sidat, João Paulo Magalhães, Fernando Passos Cupertino de Barros, António Pedro Delgado, Tiago Correia, Cláudio Tadeu Daniel-Ribeiro, Paulo Ferrinho
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-06-01
Series:One Health
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771421000185
Description
Summary:The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has affected communities, populations, and countries throughout the world. As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic developed, the extent to which the disease interacted with already existing endemic, non-communicable and infectious diseases became evident, hence deeply influencing health outcomes. Additionally, a synergistic effect has been demonstrated also with socio-economic, cultural, and contextual determinants of health which seem to contribute to poorer health and accumulating social disadvantages.In this essay, using as a starting point the syndemic theory that translates the cumulative and intertwined factors between different epidemics, we argue that the SARS-CoV-2 is a one health issue of a syndemic nature and that the failure to acknowledge this contributes to weakened policy-making processes and public health responses and ineffective health policies and programs.
ISSN:2352-7714