Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 on the diagnoses of Hansen's disease in Brazil

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Nelson Pereira Marques, Nádia Carolina Teixeira Marques, Iberto Medeiros Cardozo, Daniella Reis Barbosa Martelli, Edson Gomes de Lucena, Eduardo Araújo Oliveira, Hercílio Martelli Júnior
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2021
• Subjects: COVID-19; Hansen's disease; Pandemics; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0251-2021; https://doaj.org/article/70d9dc7478234d89ae75e56088881680

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has limited the access of patients with Hansen's disease (HD) to care due to changes in routine health services. METHODS: To ascertain this, we compared the number of HD cases diagnosed before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: The decrease in HD cases in Brazil reached 18,223 (-48.4%), corresponding to an average reduction of 1,518 cases per month during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: Therefore, effective measures should be implemented to minimize the damage and the consequent negative health impact of COVID-19 on the care of HD patients.