Epidemiological Chronicle of the First Recovered Coronavirus Disease Patient From Panama: Evidence of Early Cluster Transmission in a High School of Panama City
The first patient infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Panama was reported on March 9, 2020. Here, we describe the first case of recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country. The patient was a 49-year-old male high school teacher, who did no...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-09-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.553730/full |
| _version_ | 1819016494347976704 |
|---|---|
| author | Augusto Hernandez Paul Muñoz Jose C. Rojas Gilberto A. Eskildsen Gilberto A. Eskildsen Julio Sandoval K. S. Rao Rolando A. Gittens Jose R. Loaiza Jose R. Loaiza Jose R. Loaiza |
| author_facet | Augusto Hernandez Paul Muñoz Jose C. Rojas Gilberto A. Eskildsen Gilberto A. Eskildsen Julio Sandoval K. S. Rao Rolando A. Gittens Jose R. Loaiza Jose R. Loaiza Jose R. Loaiza |
| author_sort | Augusto Hernandez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The first patient infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Panama was reported on March 9, 2020. Here, we describe the first case of recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country. The patient was a 49-year-old male high school teacher, who did not show any primary symptoms of COVID-19 described by health authorities as the signs for medical attention. Nonetheless, he became severely ill over the course of 2 weeks and almost lost the battle against COVID-19. The identification of the first cluster of SARS-CoV-2 community transmission in the secondary school where the patient of this case report taught, led to the closure of the school and, a day after, the shutdown of the national education system, which may have prevented the spread and slowed the transmission rate of COVID-19 during the early stages of invasion. This case report highlights the need to increase awareness among healthcare professionals in Latin America to consider symptoms such as anosmia and dysgeusia as the sentinel signs of COVID-19 infection in order to prevent deaths, especially in high-risk patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T02:48:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9dfd9d2e1e14d28bf5894bdbe6d96e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T02:48:31Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9dfd9d2e1e14d28bf5894bdbe6d96e92022-12-21T19:18:31ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652020-09-01810.3389/fpubh.2020.553730553730Epidemiological Chronicle of the First Recovered Coronavirus Disease Patient From Panama: Evidence of Early Cluster Transmission in a High School of Panama CityAugusto Hernandez0Paul Muñoz1Jose C. Rojas2Gilberto A. Eskildsen3Gilberto A. Eskildsen4Julio Sandoval5K. S. Rao6Rolando A. Gittens7Jose R. Loaiza8Jose R. Loaiza9Jose R. Loaiza10Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos, Complejo Hospitalario Doctor Arnulfo Arias Madrid, Caja de Seguro Social (CSS), Panama City, PanamaUnidad de Cuidados Intensivos, Complejo Hospitalario Doctor Arnulfo Arias Madrid, Caja de Seguro Social (CSS), Panama City, PanamaColegio Monseñor Francisco Beckmann, Panama City, PanamaCentro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Panama City, PanamaUnidad de Cuidados Intensivos, Ministerio de Salud de Panamá (MINSA), Panama City, PanamaUnidad de Cuidados Intensivos, Ministerio de Salud de Panamá (MINSA), Panama City, PanamaCentro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Panama City, PanamaCentro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Panama City, PanamaCentro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Panama City, PanamaSmithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, PanamaPrograma Centroamericano de Maestría en Entomología, Universidad de Panamá, Panama City, PanamaThe first patient infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Panama was reported on March 9, 2020. Here, we describe the first case of recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country. The patient was a 49-year-old male high school teacher, who did not show any primary symptoms of COVID-19 described by health authorities as the signs for medical attention. Nonetheless, he became severely ill over the course of 2 weeks and almost lost the battle against COVID-19. The identification of the first cluster of SARS-CoV-2 community transmission in the secondary school where the patient of this case report taught, led to the closure of the school and, a day after, the shutdown of the national education system, which may have prevented the spread and slowed the transmission rate of COVID-19 during the early stages of invasion. This case report highlights the need to increase awareness among healthcare professionals in Latin America to consider symptoms such as anosmia and dysgeusia as the sentinel signs of COVID-19 infection in order to prevent deaths, especially in high-risk patients.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.553730/fullepidemiological investigationSARS-CoV-2COVID-19anosmiadysgeusiaPanama City |
| spellingShingle | Augusto Hernandez Paul Muñoz Jose C. Rojas Gilberto A. Eskildsen Gilberto A. Eskildsen Julio Sandoval K. S. Rao Rolando A. Gittens Jose R. Loaiza Jose R. Loaiza Jose R. Loaiza Epidemiological Chronicle of the First Recovered Coronavirus Disease Patient From Panama: Evidence of Early Cluster Transmission in a High School of Panama City Frontiers in Public Health epidemiological investigation SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 anosmia dysgeusia Panama City |
| title | Epidemiological Chronicle of the First Recovered Coronavirus Disease Patient From Panama: Evidence of Early Cluster Transmission in a High School of Panama City |
| title_full | Epidemiological Chronicle of the First Recovered Coronavirus Disease Patient From Panama: Evidence of Early Cluster Transmission in a High School of Panama City |
| title_fullStr | Epidemiological Chronicle of the First Recovered Coronavirus Disease Patient From Panama: Evidence of Early Cluster Transmission in a High School of Panama City |
| title_full_unstemmed | Epidemiological Chronicle of the First Recovered Coronavirus Disease Patient From Panama: Evidence of Early Cluster Transmission in a High School of Panama City |
| title_short | Epidemiological Chronicle of the First Recovered Coronavirus Disease Patient From Panama: Evidence of Early Cluster Transmission in a High School of Panama City |
| title_sort | epidemiological chronicle of the first recovered coronavirus disease patient from panama evidence of early cluster transmission in a high school of panama city |
| topic | epidemiological investigation SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 anosmia dysgeusia Panama City |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.553730/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT augustohernandez epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity AT paulmunoz epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity AT josecrojas epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity AT gilbertoaeskildsen epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity AT gilbertoaeskildsen epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity AT juliosandoval epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity AT ksrao epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity AT rolandoagittens epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity AT joserloaiza epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity AT joserloaiza epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity AT joserloaiza epidemiologicalchronicleofthefirstrecoveredcoronavirusdiseasepatientfrompanamaevidenceofearlyclustertransmissioninahighschoolofpanamacity |