Cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) are falling in most of Brazil.
The study also shows that young children are the most affected by SARI, with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as the main cause.
Douglas Corrêa - Reporter for Agência Brasil
The weekly InfoGripe bulletin, released this Thursday (17), in Rio de Janeiro, by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, indicates a decrease in the number of cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in most of the country, although they remain high.
The study also shows that young children are most affected by SARS, with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as the main cause.
The analysis found that, among the elderly, influenza A is the main cause of hospitalizations and deaths. Since the beginning of the year, 7.660 people have died from SARS in Brazil.
InfoGripe researcher Tatiana Portella says that, despite the decrease in SARS cases associated with influenza A and RSV in most of the country, the incidence of SARS remains high: "That's why the flu vaccine is essential for us to further reduce the number of serious cases caused by the virus," she argues.
Data show that RSV remains the main virus associated with SARS cases in young children, followed by rhinovirus and influenza A. In the elderly, influenza A is the main cause of hospitalizations and deaths from SARS. The virus also has a prominent incidence and mortality rate in young children.
Although rhinovirus surpasses influenza A in the number of hospitalizations among children and adolescents aged 5 to 14, RSV continues to be the main cause of severe cases in children.
Despite showing signs of stabilization or reduction in some locations, cases associated with RSV remain at high incidence levels in most states, with the exception of Piauí, Tocantins and the Federal District, where the situation is improving.
Death among the elderly
Mortality from SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Infection) is higher among the elderly, especially due to influenza A, which remains the leading cause of hospitalizations and deaths in this age group. Despite the general downward trend, there are signs of a renewed increase in SARI cases among the elderly in Minas Gerais and Pará, although it is not yet possible to identify the virus responsible for this increase in these states.
Among the states, cases of SARS in the elderly associated with influenza A remain at moderate to high incidence levels in most units in the Center-South region (except Goiás, Distrito Federal and Rio de Janeiro), in addition to some states in the North (Amapá, Pará, Rondônia and Roraima) and Northeast (Alagoas, Sergipe, Maranhão and Paraíba).
States
All 27 states in Brazil showed a downward or stable trend in cases of SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Infection) over the last six weeks. However, most of them still register SARI incidence at alert, risk, or high-risk levels, particularly the states in the North region, such as Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Pará, Rondônia, and Roraima; the Northeast region, such as Alagoas, Bahia, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, and Sergipe; and the Central-South region, such as Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, Distrito Federal, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul.
Although most states are showing a downward trend, Roraima is the only state where there is still an increase in SARS in young children, associated with RSV. In Paraíba, there is an increase in SARS in the elderly, associated with influenza A.
In Alagoas, there are signs of a resurgence in the spread of SARS in children, also associated with RSV. Furthermore, Minas Gerais and Pará show signs of a resurgence or early increase in SARS in the elderly, although the responsible virus cannot yet be identified.
There has been a slight increase in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SADS) due to COVID-19 among the elderly in Rio de Janeiro, but this has not impacted total hospitalizations. "This increase is still slight. We need to wait and see if it will continue. We emphasize the importance of vaccination against COVID-19, which is essential to keeping hospitalization and death rates low in the event of a new wave. It's important to remember that some groups, such as the elderly and immunocompromised, require booster doses every six months," argues Tatiana Portella.
Deaths in the country
So far in 2025, there have been 7.660 deaths from SARS in the country. Of these, 4.112 (53,7%) tested positive for some respiratory virus, 2.828 (36,9%) tested negative, and 154 (2%) are still awaiting laboratory confirmation.
Among deaths, the majority (54,7%) were caused by influenza A, followed by Covid-19 (23,3%), RSV (10,7%), rhinovirus (10,2%) and influenza B (1,7%).
