Leprosy bacilloscopy notifications in the Brazilian Unified Health System and COVID-19 pandemic: an ecological investigation

Ricardo Barbosa-Lima; Flávia Freire Ramos-Silva; José Cleyton de Oliveira Santos; Dayane Ketlyn da Cunha Santos; Glebson Moura Silva; Simone Yuriko Kameo

doi:10.12662/2317-3076jhbs.v11i1.4656.p1-5.2023

Leprosy bacilloscopy notifications in the Brazilian Unified Health System and COVID-19 pandemic: an ecological investigation

Ricardo Barbosa-Lima, Flávia Freire Ramos-Silva, José Cleyton de Oliveira Santos, Dayane Ketlyn da Cunha Santos, Glebson Moura Silva, Simone Yuriko Kameo

Resumo

Objective: to evaluate leprosy bacilloscopy exam notifications in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) from April 2018 to March 2022. Methods: an ecological study was carried out using open-access data from the SUS. Results: the temporal tendency of leprosy bacilloscopy was considered significantly decrease over time (p <0.05), as well as there was a significant decrease in the first and second pandemic years when compared to the control interval in all Brazilian regions (p <0.05). Conclusion: leprosy bacilloscopy exams remain negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the SUS.