Epidemiological Aspects of the Initial Evolution of COVID-19 in Microregion of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil

COVID-19 is considered by the World Health Organization to be a global public health emergency, which presents regional divergences that affect the epidemiological profile of the disease and are associated with political, economic, social and behavioral aspects. We aimed to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of the disease in the microregion of Uberlândia, Brazil, in order to determine risk factors that contributed to progression of SARS-CoV-2 virus. A cross-sectional study was conducted about micro- and macro-determinants combined with the significance analysis of suspected and confirmed cases in 18 municipalities during the epidemiological weeks (EW) 9 to 26. There were 34,046 notifications, of which 4935 (14.49%) people were diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 282 (5.71%) required hospital care and 40 (0.81%) died. Age and presence of associated comorbidities were decisive in the variations of incidence and lethality rates. In general, young people were the most affected and the elderly people, the most exposed to the serious and lethal form (p < 0.0001). Comorbidities such as diabetes and cardiopathies increased 33.5 times the death risk. The dispersion of the virus was centrifugal, in the inter as well as in the intra-municipal level. The disorderly implementation of municipal decrees applied in a decentralized manner in the municipalities seems to have contributed for the incidence rates increasing in the EW 25 and 26

Medicina veterinária e a saúde única: Ação socioeducativa aplicada a idosos no contexto da COVID-19

A saúde única integra as esferas da saúde humana, ambiental e animal, por meio de políticas públicas focadas na prevenção e controle de enfermidades infecciosas. O médico veterinário é um profissional atuante na área da saúde pública pelo contato direto com as três esferas, e uma das principais ações desse profissional inclui a promoção de medidas comunitárias educativas para disseminar informações em relação à prevenção de doenças zoonóticas. Diante da atual pandemia, desenvolvemos o projeto: “Efeito borboleta aplicado a asilos de Uberlândia-MG no combate à COVID-19” com o objetivo de divulgar informações sobre a doença de maneira lúdica, e atender as demandas das instituições envolvidas. Foram produzidos e distribuídos dez materiais didáticos como vídeos e jogos interativos com orientações em relação à COVID-19 em 16 abrigos de idosos, junto à arrecadação de produtos de limpeza e higiene pessoal, máscaras e gêneros alimentícios, para enfatizar as medidas preventivas, provenientes de doações de 23 empresas. Funcionários das instituições desenvolveram as atividades propostas com os idosos, ressaltando a importância do distanciamento social e da higiene pessoal no momento atual. A ação executada permitiu a ampliação do conhecimento a respeito da pandemia, em virtude do uso de metodologias aplicadas às dificuldades e necessidades dos idosos, aliada à motivação emocional utilizada na proposta, o que favoreceu o processo ensino-aprendizagem. A presente ação social nas instituições auxiliou na conscientização e esclarecimento de dúvidas em relação à COVID-19 ao principal grupo de risco, e reforçou o contexto de atuação do médico veterinário na saúde única. Palavras-chave: Educação; Epidemia; Grupo vulnerável; Promoção de saúde Veterinary medicine and the one health system: socio-educational action applied to elderly in the context of COVID-19 Abstract: The one health system integrates the human, environmental, and animal health spheres through public policies focused on preventing and controlling infectious diseases. The veterinary doctor is a professional actor in public health through direct contact with the three spheres. One of these professional's main actions includes promoting community educational measures to disseminate information regarding the prevention of zoonotic diseases. In the face of the current pandemic, we developed the project: "Butterfly effect applied to asylums of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, in the combat to COVID-19" to spread information about the disease playfully and to attend to the demands of the involved institutions. Ten educational materials were produced and distributed, such as videos and interactive games with guidelines regarding COVID-19, in 16 shelters for the elderly, along with the collection of cleaning and personal hygiene products, masks, and food products from donations from 23 companies, to emphasize preventive measures. Institutional staff developed the proposed activities with the elderly, emphasizing the importance of social distance and personal hygiene at this time. The action performed allowed the amplification of knowledge about the pandemic due to the use of methodologies applied to the difficulties and needs of the elderly, allied to the emotional motivation used in the proposal, which favored the teaching-learning process. This social action in the institutions helped to raise awareness and clarify doubts concerning VOCID-19 to the leading risk group and reinforced the context of the veterinarian's action in the one health. Keywords: Education; Epidemic; Vulnerable group; Health promotio