The coronavirus 2019-nCoV epidemic: Is hindsight 20/20?

Malta, Monica; Rimoin, Anne W.; Strathdee, Steffanie A.

The myriad factors influencing the COVID-19 pandemic are not unique. High population density, unsanitary conditions and an inadequate health care infrastructure were also at the core of the Zika epidemic [6] . Brazil reported the first confirmed case of Zika virus (ZIKV) in May 2015, followed by a sharp increase in the number of neonates born with microcephaly. The government quickly declared ZIKV a national public health emergency in November 2015, followed by WHO three months later. However, the Brazilian Zika emergency protocol did not mention or authorize legal abortion, despite WHO recommendations. More than 2700 babies were born with congenital Contents lists available at ScienceDirect EClinicalMedicine journal homepage: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/eclinicalmedicine Zika syndrome in Brazil. Systemic problems continue to affect disenfranchised and densely populated communities in Brazil that remain at risk of emerging or reemerging arboviruses [6] . If another ZIKV outbreak occurs, young Brazilian women still cannot access safe abortion and might need to provide lifelong care for a severely disabled child.