Laudares Humberto, Batista Carolina, Gagliardi Pedro Henrique, Rocha Rudi, Ray Nicolas
Faculty of Medicine, GeoHealth Group, Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) Latin America, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025 Apr 29;5(4):e0004527. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004527. eCollection 2025.
Brazil had the second-largest death toll during the COVID-19 pandemic, with indigenous peoples disproportionately affected among ethnic groups. Parallel to the pandemic, Brazil has recorded the highest rate of deforestation globally, with encroachments into Indigenous territories putting climate stabilization and biodiversity at risk. However, the effects of deforestation on COVID-19 transmission to Brazil's Indigenous peoples are unknown. This study shows that during the pre-vaccination period, deforestation partially explains COVID-19 transmission among Indigenous populations. Our main results for the pre-vaccination period indicate that a daily increase in deforestation per km2 is associated, on average, with the confirmation of 0.76 (p < 0.004, 95% CI: 0.240 - 1.276) new daily cases of COVID-19 among Indigenous peoples 14 days after deforestation warnings. Our estimates suggest deforestation explains at least 9.6% of all COVID-19 cases among indigenous populations. The association between the two variables disappears after the vaccination program. Our findings provide empirical evidence on the interplay between environmental degradation and negative health outcomes in a vulnerable segment of society in the context of a pandemic. Furthermore, these findings highlight the importance of the One Health approach to building preparedness for future pandemic threats.
在新冠疫情期间，巴西的死亡人数位居全球第二，在各个种族群体中，原住民受到的影响尤为严重。在疫情肆虐的同时，巴西的森林砍伐率全球最高，对原住民领地的侵犯危及气候稳定和生物多样性。然而，森林砍伐对新冠病毒传播至巴西原住民的影响尚不清楚。本研究表明，在疫苗接种前阶段，森林砍伐在一定程度上解释了新冠病毒在原住民群体中的传播情况。我们在疫苗接种前阶段的主要研究结果表明，每平方公里森林砍伐面积每日增加，平均而言，与在森林砍伐预警发出14天后原住民群体中新增0.76例（p < 0.004，95%置信区间：0.240 - 1.276）新冠病毒确诊病例相关。我们的估计表明，森林砍伐至少解释了原住民群体中所有新冠病毒病例的9.6%。在疫苗接种计划实施后，这两个变量之间的关联消失了。我们的研究结果为疫情背景下社会弱势群体中环境退化与负面健康结果之间的相互作用提供了实证依据。此外，这些研究结果凸显了“同一健康”方法对于防范未来大流行威胁的重要性。
