Tackling the unseen consequences: The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on new paediatric leprosy cases in Brazil

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted global health with the reorganisation of health services and some disruption of routine work. This paper aims to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the detection of new leprosy cases in children under 15 years old in the state of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. The analysis included all new leprosy cases reported in children under 15 years old in the state of Pernambuco from 2015 to 2021. The leprosy detection coefficient in the age group was calculated, and the degree of endemicity was classified in the municipalities, regions and micro-regions of the state. To quantify the impact of the pandemic on the detection of new cases, the percentage change in the years 2020 and 2021 was calculated. The study showed a reduction in the detection of leprosy cases in children under 15 years old in Pernambuco in the period 2020 to 2021 (56.4% and 65.3% reductions, respectively). Among the health macro-regions, in 2020, the greatest decline was observed in the Sertão region (81.5% reduction) and, in 2021, in Sertão (83.6% reduction) and Agreste (83.6% reduction). The number of municipalities with no leprosy records in the population studied in the first two years of the pandemic was higher than that observed in previous years, reaching 88.1% in 2021. The findings show that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the fight against leprosy in Pernambuco. Strategies should be adopted to reduce underdiagnosis in the state.