EFEITOS DE AGROTÓXICOS SOBRE O SISTEMA IMUNE: CONSIDERAÇÕES NO CONTEXTO DA PANDEMIA DA COVID-19 NO BRASIL

Abstract

Contamination of food by pesticides entails numerous health risks for the population in general and, more particularly, for rural workers exposed to these products. The deleterious effects are manifested mainly on the nervous, genitourinary, digestive, respiratory and immune systems, having been associated with an increased incidence of neurological diseases, tumors, congenital malformations, reduced humoral and cellular immune responses and many other disorders. Brazil has been the world leader in the use of pesticides since 2008 and, as of 2016, it has intensified the registration of pesticides. In 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of releases was the highest since the beginning of the historical series.This scenario, aggravated by hunger, a key risk factor for the development of secondary immunodeficiency states, exposes the most vulnerable population to a potential increase in the risk of developing infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and the worsening of comorbidities, which may result in greater difficulties in controlling the pandemic.