COVID-19 em alto-mar

surtos em navios de guerra e de cruzeiro

Abstract

Introduction: Recently, the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 on a global scale, also involved episodes of outbreaks of COVID-19 in military and civilian vessels. This has brought to light the issue of sanitary security in landings in ports along the navigation plan. Objective: to provide an overview of cases of infection by this new coronavirus on board war and cruise ships, with higher emphasis on laboratory findings and control measures reported in the scientific literature. Methods: integrative review based on a search in PubMed and SciELO databases, comprising the period from 2019 to 2021, using the following search terms in Portuguese, English and Spanish: ‘COVID-19’; and ‘warship’ or ‘cruise ship’. Results and discussion: More than 20 warships and 40 cruise ships had cases of the disease, with hundreds or thousands of infected individuals, and a rapid spread of the virus. Regarding laboratory findings, some of these cases revealed a reduction in lymphocytes and an increase in C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase and D-dimer, also showing variability in seroconversion according to symptomatology. As for control measures, the use of face masks combined with the early detection and disembarkation of those who might have been infected were able to prevent further spread of the pathogen on ships. Conclusion: outbreaks of COVID-19 on military and civil vessels made evident the need of promoting the crew’s epidemiological training, and they revealed the importance of developing international conduct protocols against on board new infectious threats.