Version 1
: Received: 20 September 2024 / Approved: 23 September 2024 / Online: 24 September 2024 (09:16:50 CEST)
How to cite:
Vidal, S. L.; Lages, D. D. S.; Maciel, I. C. L.; Leite, I. C. G.; Coelho, A. D. C. O.; Lana, F. C. F. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Detection of Leprosy in Micro-Regions with a High Risk of Illness in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Preprints2024, 2024091800. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1800.v1
Vidal, S. L.; Lages, D. D. S.; Maciel, I. C. L.; Leite, I. C. G.; Coelho, A. D. C. O.; Lana, F. C. F. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Detection of Leprosy in Micro-Regions with a High Risk of Illness in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Preprints 2024, 2024091800. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1800.v1
Vidal, S. L.; Lages, D. D. S.; Maciel, I. C. L.; Leite, I. C. G.; Coelho, A. D. C. O.; Lana, F. C. F. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Detection of Leprosy in Micro-Regions with a High Risk of Illness in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Preprints2024, 2024091800. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1800.v1
APA Style
Vidal, S. L., Lages, D. D. S., Maciel, I. C. L., Leite, I. C. G., Coelho, A. D. C. O., & Lana, F. C. F. (2024). Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Detection of Leprosy in Micro-Regions with a High Risk of Illness in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1800.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Vidal, S. L., Angélica da Conceição Oliveira Coelho and Francisco C. F. Lana. 2024 "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Detection of Leprosy in Micro-Regions with a High Risk of Illness in Minas Gerais, Brazil" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1800.v1
Abstract
Background: Leprosy control remains challenging in Brazil and has been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Objective: To analyze the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the epide-miological scenario of leprosy through the detection rate of new cases, risk of illness and hidden prevalence according to high-risk micro-region in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: Ecological study conducted in the health micro-regions, using data on new leprosy cases diagnosed between 2015 and 2023. The annual detection rate of new cases, the Risk of Illness Index and the Hidden Preva-lence were evaluated. The time trend was evaluated by calculating the Annual Percentage Change (APC) of the detection rate, based on segmented linear regression. Results: A reduction in the detection of new cases was identified in most of the micro-regions evaluated. Minas Gerais and some micro-regions showed a positive increase in the variation of the overall detection rate in 2021. The reduction in hidden prevalence in certain micro-regions is linked to the reduction in diagnoses, especially those cases with installed physical disability. Despite the reduction in the risk of becoming ill with leprosy in some micro-regions, Minas Gerais showed an increase in risk. Conclusions: The pandemic has had a considerable and heterogeneous impact on the detection of new cases, as well as on the risk of becoming ill and the hidden prevalence, with repercussions for the control of the endemic in populations. There is a need to implement public health policies that prioritize the early identification of cases and ensure that vulnerable populations are monitored.
Keywords
Leprosy; Epidemiology; COVID-19 pandemic; Public Health Surveillance
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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