UA misleading video from a lawyer listing a series of cases of famous people who were recently diagnosed with pneumonia has circulated on Instagram. The lawyer questions whether Covid has turned into pneumonia. He further states that “at Bolsonaro’s time, everything was Covid.”
The publication misinforms by insinuating that the disease is being used to mask cases of covid-19. None of the cases of pneumonia mentioned in the video have been proven to be related to Covid-19. Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung that is usually caused by infections caused by bacteria or viruses. According to experts interviewed by Comprova, Covid-19 can lead to a series of respiratory complications, including pneumonia, but they are different diseases.
The author of the video bases his argument on the pneumonia diagnosis of former minister José Dirceu (PT), singer Ivete Sangalo, businessman Abilio Diniz and Goiânia councilor Luciula do Recanto (PSD). Ivete had pneumonia after catching a virus; Diniz was diagnosed with pneumonitis, not pneumonia; Luciula had bacterial pneumonia, caused by leptospirosis. Dirceu did not disclose the cause of the pneumonia, but reports about his health condition do not mention Covid.
The author of the video mistakenly associates these cases with an alleged article from Oswaldo Cruz Hospital. However, this text is not a scientific article, but the reproduction of a report from May 2020 on the R7 portal, which addressed the possibility of patients with covid-19 developing pneumonia.
Pulmonologist Elie Fiss, cited in the report, highlighted to Comprova that the context of 2020 was different from the current situation. He states that recently treated cases of the new coronavirus have not progressed with the same severity observed at the beginning of the pandemic, due to vaccination.
Misleading, for Comprova, is content taken from the original context and used in another in such a way that its meaning changes; that uses inaccurate data or that leads to an interpretation different from the intention of its author; content that confuses, with or without the deliberate intent to cause harm.
As of March 13, the video had more than 1 million views on Instagram.
IInitially, we searched for information on Google about the supposed article from Hospital Oswaldo Cruz and, using keywords, we found the R7 report that was reproduced by the hospital. We contacted the health unit, which confirmed that it was not the author of the text. We also sought out experts and the Ministry of Health, which provided updated information about Covid-19 and the disease’s relationship with pneumonia. Finally, we sought advice from public figures mentioned in the text.
In the post investigated here, a man uses news of celebrities recently diagnosed with pneumonia to suggest that the disease is being used to mask cases of Covid-19. In the comments on the video, users claim that data on the new coronavirus was overreported in the Bolsonaro government and is being hidden in the Lula government. “COVID only existed during Bolsonaro’s government!!! There’s no such thing as Lula’s. This misgovernment is already taking Brazil into a hole”, wrote a follower.
Another person said that, before, “death from a stray bullet was COVID, death from a traffic accident was COVID, death from a heart attack was COVID, death from dengue was COVID.” The video also makes a similar statement and says that, at the time of the Bolsonaro government, it was proven that there were people who died from causes unrelated to Covid and who had this cause of death on their death certificate. “In Bolsonaro’s time, flu was Covid. Everything was a Covid diagnosis,” he said. But none of that is true.
Comprova has already carried out different checks that disprove the claim that deaths from other causes were being reported as covid. In reality, the scenario during the pandemic was different: studies demonstrated that there was underreporting of deaths from the disease caused by the coronavirus. For example, in 2022 researchers from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) calculated that the number of deaths from Covid-19 in Brazil in 2020 was 18% higher than official statistics say.
It is worth mentioning that a report by Folha de S. Paulo showed that the problem of underreporting persists, but for different reasons than at the beginning of the pandemic. In 2020, there was a lack of testing and the priority was to diagnose more serious cases. According to experts interviewed by the report, today the population’s attitude towards Covid-19 has changed, and fewer tests are carried out. Furthermore, there is still a lack of clear public policy on testing for the disease.
The famous people mentioned were José Dirceu; Ivete Sangalo; Abilio Diniz and Luciula do Recanto. None of these cases have been proven to be related to Covid-19. Diniz, in this case, did not have pneumonia, contrary to what was initially reported in the press, but rather pneumonitis. He died on February 18, at the age of 87, from respiratory failure due to the disease. While pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung that is usually caused by infections caused by bacteria or viruses, the causes of pneumonitis are fungi, bird feathers, inhaled organic or chemical agents, autoimmune diseases, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, and even medications.
Councilor Luciula do Recanto said that “she had a stroke in both lungs resulting from bacterial pneumonia, but due to leptospirosis and not covid”. Ivete Sangalo’s office informed that it will not provide any more details about the artist’s illness beyond what was initially disclosed. In February, right after Carnival, Ivete posted on social media that she had caught a virus. “Based on medical advice, I came to the hospital and then hospitalization came. Diagnosis: Pneumonia. I’m being cared for and I’m already feeling better.” Finally, José Dirceu’s lawyer did not return our contacts until the end of the text.
O The author of the video associates the cases of these celebrities with an alleged article from Oswaldo Cruz Hospital entitled “Pneumonia caused by Covid-19 can be silent. Understand”. The text, however, is not an article or scientific research, but rather the full reproduction of a report from the R7 portal from May 2020, that is, the beginning of the pandemic. In a statement, the hospital denied authorship of the report. “It was produced in 2020 by the R7 portal with an interview with Dr. Elie Fiss, pulmonologist at the Hospital.”
The published report talks about the possibility of people infected with Covid-19 having a condition that progresses to pneumonia. “In patients with Covid-19, it [pneumonia] It is a consequence of the damage caused by the new coronavirus in the lungs or the exaggerated response of the body’s immune system to the virus”, said an excerpt from the report.
To Comprova, pulmonologist Elie Fiss explained that the context in which the report was made, in 2020, is different from the current one. “At that time, we began to experience both pneumonia caused by the virus, viral pneumonia, and bacterial pneumonia due to secondary infection and thrombosis,” he said.
According to the expert, it is wrong to say that Covid-19 has turned into pneumonia. The Covid cases he has been treating recently have not shown the same severity seen at the beginning of the pandemic. “Of the cases diagnosed this season, none evolved into complicated pneumonia, none evolved into viral pneumonia caused by Covid,” he said.
Fiss believes that vaccination was responsible for preventing serious health conditions. “Without a doubt, all the vaccination that has been carried out means that Covid cases are cases of mild respiratory infections”, he added.
Another specialist consulted, the scientific coordinator of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases (SBI), Alexandre Naime, explains that although pneumonia can be caused by various microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa. The most common cases are caused by viruses. “The scenario of predominance of respiratory viruses is very dynamic, which is why monitoring is essential. This helps to evaluate situations in which it is necessary to bring forward the vaccine for Influenza or update the vaccine for Covid, for example,” he said.
The different types of pneumonia usually fall into what the Ministry of Health defines as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). In the latest bulletin with a surveillance report on flu syndromes, the Ministry of Health reports that in 2024, until March 2, 4,280 cases of SARS were reported, with the predominance of identification of the virus that causes covid-19, SARS-CoV -2 (63%). In relation to SARS due to Covid-19, a link is observed with the current scenario of increased SARS in the central-south states. Part of the states in the Southeast and South regions also show an increase in the Influenza virus. In the states of the North and Northeast that show signs of growth in SARS, there is an association with an increase in positive cases for Influenza.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health (MS) stated that covid-19 can lead to a series of respiratory complications, including pneumonia. “In fact, many serious cases of Covid-19 can result in pneumonia, which can be one of the main causes of hospitalization and mortality associated with the disease. In some cases, patients with Covid-19 may develop pneumonia as a subsequent complication of the initial viral infection. Therefore, it is possible for cases of Covid-19 to develop into pneumonia, although not all cases of pneumonia are necessarily caused by Covid-19”, he informed.
The MS also said that its General Coordination of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (CGVDI/MS) does not carry out monitoring/surveillance of pneumonia cases and, therefore, does not have data on the disease. For Fiss, it is not possible to say that we are experiencing a pneumonia outbreak without analyzing the data. However, he claims to see an increase in cases of pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a bacteria. SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid-19, is a virus. “There are more cases of bacterial infections, but mycoplasma is much more prevalent than other bacteria,” he said.
Around the world, cases of bacterial pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma have been diagnosed. In November 2023, the International Society for Infectious Diseases reported that Chinese hospitals were overwhelmed by the disease. Soon, countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States also registered an increase in cases.
Although it may seem worrying, the World Health Organization declared that the increase in cases was expected. This occurs because, with social isolation during the pandemic, people spent time without exposure to the bacteria. To Jornal da USP, Alberto Cukier, director of the Pulmonology Division Service at the Heart Institute of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo, said that “the risk of a new pandemic is zero”, as Mycoplasma is a known bacterial infection and there is already an efficient antibiotic against the microorganism.
The author of the video introduces himself as “Doctor Amarildo Filho” and as a lawyer. In 2020, Filho was a candidate for councilor in Goiânia for the then Social Liberal Party (PSL) and was defeated, receiving just 1,116 votes. In 2022, he was a candidate for state representative of Goiás for Agir and was defeated again, this time with 2,909 votes. Amarildo Filho was contacted via Instagram message, but did not respond.
The post analyzed associates true information (famous people diagnosed with pneumonia) with content taken from the original context to suggest a false statement, that covid-19 has “become” pneumonia, creating confusion between the meanings of the diseases, since pneumonia it can be one of the consequences of covid-19, but it can also be caused by other agents, from viruses to bacteria. When faced with this type of content, it is important to check whether all the sources used to support the thesis are correct or not.
Comprova monitors suspicious content published on social networks and messaging applications about public policies and elections at the federal level and opens investigations into those publications that have greater reach and engagement. You can also suggest checks via WhatsApp +55 11 97045-4984.
Tags: Pneumonia cases mentioned video proven relationship Covid
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