The coronavirus threatens tribes that have deliberately refused to communicate with the world: most of these live in the Amazon basin in South America, Report informs, citing foreign media.
However, they are sometimes forced to leave the jungle, and accidental contact with neighbouring peoples is inevitable. This means that the risk of transmission of infection increases.
Infections cause great damage to the indigenous population. The immunity of isolated tribes is not familiar with most of the pathogens circulating in the human population. Even the common cold virus is dangerous for them. The typical cause of death is from a disease brought in from outside. For example, measles outbreaks are known to have claimed the lives of the Andamanese Jara-wa and Yanomami Indians.
And in 2014, in the Brazilian state of Acre, fleeing from poachers, the Sapanava people, who had not previously been in contact with the world, entered the village. A few days later, many fell ill with the flu, and only timely medical care saved them from death.
Researchers from the University of Mato Grasso note that ethnic minorities are most affected by the coronavirus in Brazil. They are six and a half times more likely to die from the disease than the general population. Scientists conducted a geographical analysis during the peak of the epidemic in the spring and summer of 2020 and identified 16 clusters that are most susceptible to outbreaks of infection.
The authors of the work believe that the pandemic is to blame for the high mortality. According to statistics, among indigenous peoples, as well as throughout the world, men and the elderly are more likely to die from covid. Apparently, long-term political and social isolation is making its contribution.
A similar situation is described by scientists from Ecuador. Due to isolation from civilization and underdeveloped infrastructure, small tribes, which make up seven percent of the population, are deprived of healthcare access. Medical laboratories are exclusively in cities, and their services are expensive.
Despite the isolation, the virus penetrates into the most remote corners of the country. Specialists tested selectively 769 people from 14 small communities and found positive results in 12. Sometimes up to half of the tests point to SARS-CoV-2. According to the oral testimonies of the heads of the tribes, people died from covid, but how many is unknown.
Of particular concern are the Tagaeri and Taromenanes, the last non-contact groups from the closed part of the Yasuni National Park. The infection can get to them through interaction with the Huaorani Indians.
Most of the infected in Brazil were found in the Arara tribe from the Amazon basin, who came into contact in 1987. At the peak of the epidemic, 46 percent of the Arar had a positive test, and there were only 121 of them.