Efeitos de agrotóxicos sobre o sistema imune: considerações no contexto da pandemia da covid-19 no Brasil

Abstract

Food contamination by pesticides poses numerous health risks to the general population and, more particularly, to rural workers exposed to these products. The deleterious effects manifest mainly on the nervous, genitourinary, digestive, respiratory, and immune systems, and have 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 pesticide use since 2008 and, since 2016, has intensified the registration of pesticides. In 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of approvals was the highest since the beginning of the historical series. This scenario, aggravated by hunger, a determining 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 to the worsening of comorbidities, which may result in greater difficulties in controlling the pandemic.