02360nas a2200325 4500000000100000008004100001260004400042653002100086653002300107653001700130100002300147700002200170700002900192700001500221700001600236700001600252700001500268700001100283700002000294700001400314700001600328700002400344700001700368245012400385856006500509300000900574490000700583520143000590022001402020 2025 d bSpringer Science and Business Media LLC10aSchistosomiasis 10aNeglected Diseases10aChemotherapy1 ade Jesus Santos CT1 aGraeff-Teixeira C1 aDi Christine Oliveira YL1 aMenezes DL1 aOliveira LM1 aRodrigues A1 aLa Corte R1 aJain S1 ade Carvalho TPV1 aSilva JRS1 aFujiwara RT1 ade Amorim Santos IG1 aDolabella SS00aNational Health Policy and the COVID-19 pandemic on human schistosomiasis mansoni in Sergipe state, Northeastern Brazil uhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12982-025-00576-9 a1-100 v223 a
Introduction: In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shifted global attention, potentially contributing to the neglect of other diseases, such as schistosomiasis in endemic countries like Brazil.
Methods: To understand how the pandemic may have infuenced the control of schistosomiasis in Sergipe, the Brazilian state with the highest prevalence of the disease, we analyzed epidemiological and operational indicators using SISPCE data from 2010 to 2021. The average test rate was estimated, and a simple linear regression assuming years as an independent variable was employed.
Results: Two temporal trends were observed, the frst showing stability in the number of tests and treatment of patients from 2010 to 2017, followed by a decline in these numbers between 2017 and 2021.
Conclusion: While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health services, the reduction in testing and treatment coverage for schistosomiasis was already evident since 2017. Political and economic factors, including decentralization policies and budget cuts in public health, appear to have played a more signifcant role in the decline of schistosomiasis control eforts than the pandemic itself. This decline could represent a barrier to the elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem considering the new recommendations from the WHO
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