AUTHOR=Morales-Jadán Diana , Vallejo-Janeta Alexander Paolo , Bastidas Vanessa , Paredes-Espinosa Maria Belen , Freire-Paspuel Byron , Rivera-Olivero Ismar , Ortiz-Prado Esteban , Henriquez-Trujillo Aquiles Rodrigo , Lozada Tannya ,  The UDLA COVID-19 Team , Garcia-Bereguiain Miguel Angel , Jaramillo Tatiana , Gordon Daniela Santander , Iturralde Gabriel Alfredo , Teran Julio Alejandro , Vasquez Karen Marcela , Rondal Jonathan Dario , Granda Genoveva , Santamaria Ana Cecilia , Pino Cynthia Lorena , Espinosa Oscar Lenin , Buitron Angie , Grisales David Sanchez , Jimenez Karina Beatriz , Galvis Heberson , Coronel Barbara , Aguilar Dayana Marcela , Paredes Ines Maria , Bilvao Christian David , Pazmiño Sebastian Rodriguez , Laglaguano Juan Carlos , Herrera Henry , Espinosa Pablo Marcelo , Galarraga Edison Andrés , Zambrano-Mila Marlon Steven , Tito Ana María , Zapata Nelson David 

TITLE=High SARS-CoV-2 infection rates and viral loads in community-dwelling individuals from rural indigenous and mestizo communities from the Andes during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1001679

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2023.1001679

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Background. Neglected indigenous groups and underserved rural populations in Latin America are highly vulnerable to COVID-19 due to a poor health infrastructure and limited access to SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. The Andean Region in Ecuador includes a large number of isolated rural mestizo and indigenous communities living under poverty conditions.  Objective. We herein present a retrospective analysis of the surveillance SARS-CoV-2 testing in community dwelling population from four provinces in the Ecuadorian Andes, carried out during the first weeks after the national lockdown was lifted in June 2020. Results. A total number of 1,021 people were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR, resulting in an overall infection rate of 26.2%, over 50% in several communities. Interestingly, community dwelling super spreaders with viral loads over 108 copies/mL represented 7.46% of the SARS-CoV-2 infected population. Conclusion. These results support that COVID-19 community transmission in rural communities from the Andean region was happening at the early stages of COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador and point out the weakness of the COVID-19 control program.