Nicaragua entered its lowest point of the covid-19 pandemic after two years. For the first time, the Ministry of Health (Minsa) does not report a single death from this cause, after admitting the invariable one death per week since October 13, 2020. Doctors believe that the infections continue and the population should not be neglected.
“My perception is that we have already had four outbreaks of the epidemic, the last two of lower intensity and mortality. It is possible that we will have variations in the behavior, but not with peaks like the first two (of 2020 and 2021). It is a disease that has become endemic, similar to influenza”, says a doctor from a private hospital.
After the second wave, which occurred between August and October and 2021, the country has had two outbreaks that have been related to the omicron variant of concern. The first occurred between mid-January and February 2022, but had little impact on hospitalizations and deaths.
The second outbreak was reported between mid-May and June. The Minsa reported for five consecutive weeks an increase in cases of 10%. However, since the migratory requirement for negative PCR tests was suspended in the region, reported cases have fallen. The second week of July was the lowest in infections since April 2020. However, this week there was an increase of 17%.
“The population in general perceives that the disease is becoming less and less and that it affects less, the silence in the country and the lack of information and education in health confirms their perception. In the world, cases have increased by 30% and the trend is upward, we are in another wave, which may be the third or sixth depending on the country,” says the epidemiologist, Leonel Argüello.
Central America on the rise due to omicron sublineages
This week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) noted that infections in Honduras and Costa Rica have increased between 10% and 16% by the ómicron sublineages, BA.4 and BA.5.
“Ómicron is the only variant circulating in Central America at this time, and as we know, this variant has a high transmission capacity, in addition to its ability to evade the immune response, with which it can easily spread and even generate reinfections. ”, pointed out Dr. Sylvain Aldighieri, from PAHO.
Although these new outbreaks in Nicaragua are not triggering an overflow of hospitalizations and an impact on mortality as occurred in the last two waves, they may have consequences for the population such as post-Covid syndrome.
“The epidemic is not over, although the cases are less serious, there is always the risk of complications and now not only fatal complications, but a series of manifestations that have been described as sequelae, prolonged covid or acute post-covid syndrome. So the recommendation is to maintain the use of masks in places where there is a high concentration of people and preserve the habit of washing hands,” says the Nicaraguan doctor, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals.
Lack of political will to report on variants
The Minsa has not informed the population about the circulation of these sublineages of the omicron variant, but the doctor points out that there is evidence, by scientific publications, that in certain hospitals and health centers covid surveillance “investigations” are carried out, but it is This information may not be publicly known due to a lack of political will.
“Unfortunately, there is no clinical way to discriminate between variants. There are some elements that can make this possibility suspect (very high infections, with rapid transmission, predominantly upper respiratory symptoms, less frequent loss of smell and palate, etc.), but the only way to know is with molecular biology tests. , that is, through the sequencing of the strains ”, explains the doctor, who has treated dozens of covid patients in the last two years.
After two years of pandemic, in Nicaragua the population has already returned to “normality”. The use of masks – which was never mandatory, but a voluntary measure for most citizens – is used less and less, mass events have been expanded with concerts and festivals.
“The worst mistake is to believe that the situation is normal and underestimate the prevention measures, which are still valid (social distancing, use of masks, hand washing, vaccination),” laments Argüello.
According to the Minsa, in Nicaragua 83.7% of the population is already vaccinated. However, this figure would be inflated with the two million booster doses and 2022 schemes that have been applied and included at the time of calculation.
