Epidemiological, socio-demographic and clinical features of the early phase of the COVID-19 epidemic in Ecuador

Ortiz-Prado, E.; Simbana-Rivera, k.; Diaz, A. M.; Barreto, A.; Moyano, C.; Arcos, V.; Vasconez-Gonzalez, E.; Paz, C.; Simbana-Guaycha, F.; Molestina-Luzuriaga, M.; Fernandez-Naranjo, R.; Feijoo, j.; Henriquez, A. R.; Adana, L.; Lopez-Cortes, A.; Fletcher, I.; Lowe, R.; Gomez-Barreno, L.

Abstract Background: The SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread all over the world infecting more than 3,585,936 people from over 210 countries and caused more than 245,803 deaths worldwide. We report the first epidemiological, socio-demographic, and clinical findings for the first 9,468 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ecuador. Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional analysis of 9,468 COVID-19 confirmed cases in Ecuador from 27 February to 18 April 2020. The overall incidence, mortality, and case fatality rate was computed according to the entire population at risk living in a canton or a province. Disability adjusted life years, attack and crude mortality rates as well as relative risk and odds ratios were computed as an outcome. Results: Since the first case reported in Ecuador on 27 Feb 2020, at least 9,468 positive COVID-19 cases of which 474 deaths were officially registered over a 54-day period. Men accounted for 55.40% (n = 5, 247) of the overall cases with an incidence rate of 60.5 per 100,000 while women accounted for 44.60 % (n = 4, 221) representing 47.2 per 100,000. The mortality rate per canton showed that cantons with a lower attack rate had higher mortality rates. Coastal cantons have a lower attack rate than the highlands and living above >2,500 m seems to be linked with a lower risk of dying (RR: 0.63 [CI 95% 0.50 - 0.79]). Fatigue was reported in 53.2% of the patients, followed by headache (43%), dry cough (41.7%), ageusia (37.1%) and anosmia (36.1%). Conclusion: This study is the first of its kind in Ecuador. The results of this analysis show that men are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than women, which increases as with age and the presence of comorbidities. Areas with better testing capabilities reported lower CFR% and mortality, additionally cantons located above 2,500 m have lower attack and mortality rates although the risk of dying is greater among highlanders. Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Ecuador; Epidemiology; Latin America