COVID-19 outbreaks in endangered Indigenous groups from the Amazonia during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Dr Diana Morales-Jadán

qualifications: PhD

contribution: Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting of manuscript

Bioquimica Farmaceutica, Magister en Biotecnologia Avanzada PhD Biologia celular y molecular, biotecnologia y biomedicina.

Mr Alexander Paolo Vallejo-Janeta

qualifications: MSc

contribution: Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting of manuscript

Mr Byron Freire-Paspuel

qualifications: MSc

contribution: Acquisition of data, Critical revision

position: Laboratory Technician

Mr Angel Sebastian Rodriguez-Pazmiño

qualifications: MSc

contribution: Acquisition of data, Critical revision

Dr Ismar Rivera-Olivero

qualifications: PhD

contribution: Study conception and design, Acquisition of data

Dr Aquiles Henriquez-Trujillo

qualifications: MD

contribution: Study conception and design, Acquisition of data

position: Professor

As a family physician with expertise in healthcare economic evaluations, I am passionate about developing strategies to enhance evidence-based decision-making in primary care and population health. My research focuses on informing evidence-based policy-making through health systems research, epidemiological studies on disease burden, and health technology assessment. I am dedicated to educating healthcare professionals and policymakers on the importance of integrating economic considerations into clinical practice and public health initiatives.

Dr Tannya Lozada

qualifications: PhD

contribution: Study conception and design, Acquisition of data

Andrés Tapia

qualifications: MSc

contribution: Study conception and design, Acquisition of data

UDLA COVID-19 Team

Quito, Ecuador

Barbara Coronel, Heberson Galvis, Tatiana Jaramillo, Daniela Santander Gordon, Gabriel Alfredo Iturralde, Julio Alejandro Terán, Karen Marcela Vasquez, Jonathan Dario Rondal, Genoveva Granda, Ana Cecilia Santamaria, Cynthia Lorena Pino, Oscar Lenin Espinosa, Angie Buitron, David Sanchez Grisales, Karina Beatriz Jimenez, Ines Maria Paredes, Christian David Bilvao, María Belén Paredes Espinosa, Juan Carlos Laglaguano, Henry Herrera, Pablo Marcelo Espinosa, Edison Andrés Galarraga, Marlon Steven Zambrano-Mila, Ana María Tito, Nelson David Zapata

Mr Solón Orlando

qualifications: MSc

contribution: Critical revision

position: Veterinarian

Prof Esteban Ortiz Prado

qualifications: PhD

contribution: Study conception and design, Acquisition of data, Critical revision

position: Professor

Esteban Ortiz-Prado is a highly accomplished medical professional with a broad range of experiences and achievements. He completed his medical training in Ecuador and then secured a fully-paid NIH scholarship to pursue his Masters in Medical Science in Canada, specializing in hypoxia physiology. During his training, he attended several courses related to high altitude physiology, underwater physiology, and clinical investigation in the US and Canada. After returning to Ecuador, he worked as a medical resident for 18 months in the biggest publicly funded Specialization Hospital in Quito, Ecuador. He was involved in several clinical research projects during this time. In 2012, he was offered a full-time job as a senior scientific advisor to the Minister of Higher Education and Science in Ecuador. In this role, he helped create, observe and improve the biomedical public policy related to clinical and biomedical research. From 2013-2015, he competed for and was awarded the position of manager of the research and development department of Enfarma EP, the only government-funded pharmaceutical company in Ecuador. In this role, he led more than 30 R+D+I projects from discovery to Phase II-III clinical trials on the first Ecuadorian-made Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and Hib vaccine. He also collected data on the pharmaceutical market and published the first article and book on the local and regional pharmaceutical market in Ecuador. In 2015, he was appointed as a staff professor at Universidad de la Americas (UDLA) in Quito, Ecuador. He founded the “One Health Global Research Group” center, which studies emergent, re-emergent and zoonotic diseases in Ecuador. This group has become well-recognized with over 200 publications to date. Esteban Ortiz-Prado was the first PhD student to take part in the Biomedicine Doctoral Program from Universitat de Barcelona to complete his PhD in Biomedicine in conjunction with his co-supervisor at UDLA in the field of tropical medicine. He was also the only medical doctor to pursue a full-time government-funded scholarship to study Global Health in Southampton, UK, obtaining the competitive Chevening scholarship. In 2020, he became the top scientific leader in Ecuador to study COVID-19, publishing over 35 articles on this disease and becoming one of the top 20 most prolific COVID-19-related researchers in Latin America, and the first one in Ecuador. He also became the best-known scientific and medical communicator during the pandemic, encouraging people to take care of themselves and take preventive measures, promoting health-related preventive practices, and hosting a prime-time health-related TV show and a health-related FM radio program. Throughout his academic career, Esteban Ortiz-Prado has actively participated in research projects with national and international funding, publishing more than 100 scientific articles and two book

Prof Miguel Angel Garcia-Bereguiain

qualifications: PhD

contribution: Study conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting of manuscript, Critical revision

position: Professor