Herpes zoster, sífilis, tuberculose e síndrome gripal: estudo de base populacional brasileira na pandemia da COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) first described in Wuhan, China in late December 2019 is an infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. COVID-19 is a public health challenge of international interest, by the World Health Organization (WHO), which has an impact on public health systems in the care, control, and elimination of diseases, especially controlled ones. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of herpes zoster, syphilis, tuberculosis and flu syndrome in the Brazilian population during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a census, cross-sectional and analytical study. Quantitative data were extracted from public databases of the Ministry of Health of Brazil - SUS, and refer to the five Brazilian macro-regions: Southeast, South, Midwest, North, Northeast and Federal District (DF), in the pandemic period. For statistical analysis, data were organized using the statistical software IBM® SPSS® Statistics, version 24.0 for Windows. The results showed an increase in the number of herpes zoster diagnoses in all Brazilian regions in the months of March to August 2020 compared to the average in the same months of 2017-2019, showing an overall average increase of 35%. Syphilis incidence rates per million population increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an average increase of 78% overall. Analyzes related to pulmonary tuberculosis showed an increase of 122.4% in the average number of consultations in all Brazilian regions, which increased from 48,688 in the period from 2017 to 2019 to 108,269 in 2020. There was a reduction in confirmed reported cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in all Brazilian regions, except the North during the pandemic period, the average number of reported cases decreased by 6,501 cases compared to the period from 2017 to 2019. Studies of the flu syndrome were more frequent in the evolution of the disease to severe acute respiratory syndrome by COVID-19. The most prevalent clinical manifestations were loss of smell/taste, fatigue, and the most prevalent comorbidities include obesity and diabetes mellitus. It is concluded that, although the association between herpes zoster and COVID-19 is not well established, an increase in cases of herpes zoster during the COVID-19 pandemic was observed, which suggests a correlation between these diseases. Measures to control the increase in herpes zoster cases in the first period of the pandemic were not effective, which resulted in a continuous increase in cases of the disease. As for the observed increase in the number of syphilis cases, they should be investigated to assist in decision-making and the programming of health measures. The increase in the number of consultations and the reduction in reported confirmed cases of pulmonary tuberculosis during the pandemic period are also worrying, as Brazil needs to guarantee the continuity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis control services to achieve its goals of eliminating the infection. Analyzes showed that more cases of acute respiratory syndrome due to COVID-19 progressed to cure. Data from this study may indicate the need to institute reinforcement measures in primary health care services to prevent complications and hospitalization.