Introduction:

The year 2020 has been the year in which the issue of health has managed to capture the attention of the majority of the population, the authorities and the media. It is evident, because the issue of the expansion of the Covid-19 pandemic, which in November marks one year of being detected in the city of Wuhan, in China has caused severe complications to the daily lives of the entire world population, with repercussions social and economic that we are still measuring. 

It is of high importance. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (2020), until the end of November 22, the coronavirus had a presence in 188 countries, adding 59 million, 049 thousand, 641 confirmed cases and 1 million 394 thousand 366 deaths. Although more than 37.6 million people have managed to recover from the disease, the truth is that concern persists as different pharmaceutical companies on all continents try to speed up the pace to achieve the long-awaited vaccine. 

This global emergency, which seems to confirm the warning made by the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases of the United States in 2018, that something that had not been foreseen then was what could hit the humanity; It has diverted the attention of the health authorities of almost all countries from other diseases that can be more lethal than Covid-19 itself.

One of those diseases that in general terms has been neglected this year globally is measles. It is a disease that mainly affects children under five years of age and that can be prevented thanks to the invention of a vaccine. However, measles killed 140,000 people worldwide during 2018 (Unicef, 2019) and according to multilateral organizations, since the end of 2019 it has had a significant rebound in nationals from Africa, Europe and the United States. 

The biggest concern is that since April of this year, with all countries diverting financial resources from health to care for those infected with Covid-19, vaccination programs have been suspended in most countries, which according to Unicef (2020) puts 117 million children at risk of contagion who could become infected with the disease. 

Other diseases that have set off the alarms of the WHO are two bacterial pathologies: pneumonia and tuberculosis. According to the figures presented by the WHO (2020) daily during 2020, more than 2,500 children are dying from pneumonia globally. This situation has been exacerbated this year due to the lack of medical attention due to forced confinement, which in many cases prevents timely assistance to hospitals.

Regarding tuberculosis, considered the most deadly pathology on the planet, the WHO considers that it could skyrocket in the coming months, since the confinement precipitated the carrying out of tests, which is the only formula to detect the disease. Annually, about 10 million cases are located, however and although there are effective treatments to combat the disease, 1.5 million patients still die each year, especially in third world countries with serious deficiencies in their health systems (WHO, 2020).

Other diseases for which attention has been lost are malaria, Ebola and AIDS. In these three cases, the WHO has foreseen a serious setback in both prevention and treatment. This will mean a greater number of infections and deaths, especially in Africa and the so-called developing countries.

The severe disruption to the medical capacities of the health systems is generating serious complications to the prevention mechanisms. In addition to the diseases mentioned above are also parasitic diseases that affect millions of children and adults around the world. 

These are diseases caused by protozoa, which are bacteria that lodge in the intestines of pets with which humans share their habitats in both rural and urban areas. Months and months of strict quarantine for fear of the coronavirus left veterinary services and deworming campaigns in the background in most cases. 

As a result of the crisis caused by Covid-19, in March of this year European associations specialized in small animals recommended reviewing the vaccination intervals for pets since, although in cases of rabies vaccines, canines retain immunological memory of Up to three years, in the case of vaccines with bacterial antigens, such long intervals cannot be applied and more frequent revaccinations are often required.

In the case of deworming, the European Scientific Counsel Companion Animal Parasites (Esccap) recommends deworming the pet four times a year, to avoid zoonosis diseases such as Toxocara spp. This recommendation can become monthly in the case of pets that reside in places with people at high risk of infection (immunosuppressed). 

But the forced confinement, the economic crisis that has arisen as a direct consequence of the closure for months of millions of businesses, the restriction of exits to the street for months, has ruined the usual treatments received by household pets or with owners. As there is less probability of prevention, there is more probability of proliferation of gastrointestinal parasites.