A 20-YEAR-OLD woman from a Brazilian tribe has contracted coronavirus, raising fears of its spread among indigenous people.
It's the first case of the virus reported among Brazil's tribes, which number more than 300, the country's health service Sesai has said.
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The casualty tested positive for Covid-19 in the district of Santo Antonio do Iá, near the border with Columbia.
Four cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the same district.
A Brazilian doctor from the region tested positive last week, raising fears that the epidemic will spread to remote and vulnerable indigenous communities with devastating effect.
Sesai said the woman was a medical worker who has been in contact with the doctor.
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She was one of 15 health workers and 12 patients tested for the virus, but the only person to have a positive result.
The stricken doctor had returned from a visit to southern Brazil to work with the Tikunas.
The Tikunas are one of the largest tribes in the Amazon, numbering more than 30,000.
Sesai said the woman who has tested positive has not shown any symptoms.
She is isolating with her family.
But health experts have warned the virus could be devastating for the 850,000 tribespeople in Brazil.
Brazil has had 8,261 confirmed cases of Covid-19, and 344 people are known to have died of the virus so far.
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