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COVID-19 in a Time of El Niño and Ecosyndemic Vulnerability: Insights from Latin America
  • Ivan J Ramírez,
  • Jieun Lee
Ivan J Ramírez
University of Colorado Denver
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Jieun Lee
University of Northern Colorado

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

Latin America has emerged as an epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador report some of the highest COVID-19 rates. These countries also face dual threats from development challenges and El Niño, which impact local disease ecologies. A country like Peru, e.g., which is highly sensitive to El Niño, already copes with an ecosyndemic burden, i.e., co-occurring multiple infectious diseases, which heighten during climate extreme events. In this commentary, we highlight the importance of El Niño as a major factor that not only may aggravate COVID-19 incidence, but also the broader health problem of ecosyndemics in Latin America.