Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hepatitis C diagnosis in Brazil: Is the global hepatitis C elimination strategy at risk?

Carmo, Rodrigo Feliciano do; Souza, Carlos Dornels Freire de

doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2021.08.005

Cited by 17 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The COVID-19 pandemic has led almost all countries to implement unprecedented public health measures ( WHO - World Health Organization, 2020a ). As a result, state police actions on social distancing reduced urban mobility, and therefore limited access to health services during the pandemic, that most likely affected the diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and control of many diseases, especially the neglected ones ( WHO, 2020 ; Kura et al, 2021 ), such as leprosy ( Silva da Paz et al, 2022 ) and hepatitis C ( do Carmo and de Souza, 2022 ), as previously reported by our group. Recent studies have already showed a reduction on TB patient care, mainly associated with fear of SARS-CoV-2 exposure ( Migliori et al, 2020 ; Visca et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…The % change was primarily designed to assess disparities in the mortality rate of different health problems ( Giattino et al, 2021 ). However, it has also been used to analyze morbidity rates ( Silva da Paz et al, 2022 ; do Carmo and de Souza, 2022 ). Considering the expected value and the one observed, it is possible to calculate the increase or reduction in the phenomenon occurrence in time and space ( Giattino et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Brazil: Is the WHO End TB Strategy at Risk?

et al. 2022

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Background: In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the “post-2015 End TB strategy”, that aims to end the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic by 2030. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted global public health and the strict measures to control the coronavirus spread can affect the management of other diseases, such as TB. Herein, we aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis of TB in Brazil, during 2020.Methods: We carried out an ecological and population-based study, using spatial analysis techniques. The variables used were the new cases of TB, pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), and also baciloscopy-positive (BP) cases in Brazil between 2015 and 2020. The percentage of changes (% change) was calculated to verify if there was an increase or decrease of TB cases in 2020, along with time trend analyses given by Joinpoint regression model. Also, interrupted time series analyses were used to assess the trend of TB diagnosis before and after the onset of the COVID-19 in Brazil. Spatial distribution maps were elaborated, considering the % change of each Brazilian state.Findings: Data analyses showed a reduction in the diagnosis of TB (−8.3%) and PTB (−8.1%) in Brazil after the irruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, 22 states depicted a reduction in TB diagnosis. An expressive reduction of BP cases (−17.1%) was also observed. Interestingly, interrupted time series analysis showed decline in TB and PTB diagnoses from March 2020. Spatial analyses revealed that all states had a progressive reduction of TB, PTB and PB cases, from March on, with the highest percentages of reduction in December (−100% to −75%).Interpretation: Taken together, our analyses demonstrated a reduction in TB diagnosis after the irruption of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil and its regions, signaling a serious impact on the WHO “End TB Strategy” global plan.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Brazil: Is the WHO End TB Strategy at Risk?

et al. 2022

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“…Likewise, previous studies conducted by our group have already demonstrated the negative effect of the pandemic in the diagnosis of hepatitis C, compromising the Brazilian hepatitis C eradication plan by the year 2030. 24 Moreover, the new coronavirus pandemic also has affected the diagnosis of leprosy 23 and tuberculosis 25 in the state of Bahia, located in the Northeast region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although % change was initially designed to assess disparities in the mortality rate of different health problems, it has also been used to analyse morbidity rates, as demonstrated in prior studies conducted by our group. 23 , 24 , 25 Considering the expected value and the one observed, it is possible to calculate the increase or reduction in the phenomenon occurrence in time and space. 26 The % change was calculated through the following equation:

in which, the number of cases registered in 2020 corresponds to the official data monthly notified by the Brazilian Ministry of Health; and the number of cases expected for 2020 corresponds to the average of cases registered monthly in the five years prior to the pandemic year (2015 to 2019).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis of leprosy in Brazil: An ecological and population-based study

Paz

Souza

Tavares

et al. 2022

The Lancet Regional Health - Americas

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Background The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has seriously affected global health, resulting in the suspension of many regular health services, making the diagnosis of other infections difficult. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis of leprosy in Brazil during the year 2020. Methods We evaluated the monthly incidence of leprosy and calculated the percentage change to verify whether there was an increase or decrease in the number of leprosy cases in 2020, considering the monthly average of cases over the previous 5 years. We used interrupted time series analysis to assess the trend in the diagnosis of leprosy before and after the start of COVID-19 in Brazil and prepared spatial distribution maps, considering the percentage variation in each state. Findings We verified a reduction of 41.4% of leprosy cases in Brazil in 2020. Likewise, there was a reduction of leprosy notifications in children under 15 years-old (-56.82%). Conversely, the diagnosis of multibacillary leprosy increased (8.1%). There was a decreasing trend in the leprosy incidence in the general population between 2015 and 2020 in Brazil. Spatial distribution maps depicted a reduction of up to 100% in new cases of leprosy in some states. Interpretation Along with COVID-19 spread there was a reduction in leprosy diagnosis in the general population and children under 15 years-old, and also an increase in multibacillary cases diagnosed, signalling a serious impact of the pandemic on leprosy control strategies in Brazil. Funding This research received no specific grants.

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“…In 2016, the World Health Organization released a strategy aiming for elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030. Several countries introduced policies and strategies to meet this ambitious goal [ 135 ]; however, many of these programs were significantly affected by the pandemic and newly diagnosed cases of HBV and HCV declined in many countries [ [136] , [137] , [138] ], profoundly impacting meticulously planned elimination strategies and policies [ 139 ]. A modeling study has predicted that a delay of just one year in hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment due to the pandemic could result in 44,800 additional liver cancer cases and 72,300 deaths worldwide by 2030 [ 140 ].…”

Section: Effects Of the Covid-19 Pandemic On Incidence And Management...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 on the liver and on the care of patients with chronic liver disease, hepatobiliary cancer, and liver transplantation: An updated EASL position paper

Marjot

Eberhardt

Böettler

et al. 2022

Journal of Hepatology

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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hepatitis C diagnosis in Brazil: Is the global hepatitis C elimination strategy at risk?

Cited by 17 publications

References 8 publications

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Brazil: Is the WHO End TB Strategy at Risk?

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Brazil: Is the WHO End TB Strategy at Risk?

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis of leprosy in Brazil: An ecological and population-based study

Impact of COVID-19 on the liver and on the care of patients with chronic liver disease, hepatobiliary cancer, and liver transplantation: An updated EASL position paper

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