Syphilis in Brazil: time of COVID-19

Nara Rúbia Rodrigues Do Nascimento-Silva,Lucas Luiz De Lima-Silva,Aline Gama

doi:10.53660/conj-704-a14

Nara Rúbia Rodrigues Do Nascimento-Silva, Lucas Luiz De Lima-Silva + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.53660/conj-704-a14

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Abstract

Background: Sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis, even though they have treatment, represent an important public health problem. In view of the pandemic brought about by the new coronavirus worldwide, changes in the incidence of syphilis in Brazil and in the state of Goiás were noticed. Methods: this is a descriptive, exploratory and retrospective observational study with integrative and systematic analysis. A search was carried out at the SUS IT Department (DATA-SUS), through the TABNET application. Results: the study identified the evolution of cases of acquired, gestational and congenital syphilis in Brazil and in the State of Goias. We can see a gradual increase over the years until 2018, but a slight decrease in 2019 and a significant reduction in 2020. Conclusion: we cannot conclude that social distancing reduced the disease transmission rate, since underreporting of cases can only be proven in a few years, when the number of visits to specialized clinics and the performance of diagnostic tests normalize.

Highlights

Transmitted infections (STIs), such as syphilis, represent a serious public health problem in the world, especially in developing countries (Machado et al, 2021)
Syphilis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, which can be transmitted from person to person, through sexual contact or during pregnancy
Congenital syphilis is the infection of the fetus by Treponema pallidum that occurs via the transplacental hematogenous route, when the pregnant woman was infected and did not correctly treat the infection

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Transmitted infections (STIs), such as syphilis, represent a serious public health problem in the world, especially in developing countries (Machado et al, 2021). Syphilis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, which can be transmitted from person to person, through sexual contact or during pregnancy (vertical transmission). Congenital syphilis is the infection of the fetus by Treponema pallidum that occurs via the transplacental hematogenous route, when the pregnant woman was infected and did not correctly treat the infection. In this case, the disease can occur regardless of the stage of pregnancy or clinical stage of the disease in the mother (Domingues et al, 2021). Severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by the new coronavirus was called COVID-19 (Coronavirus 19 Disease) (Huang et al, 2020; Lima et al, 2020). This paper aims to describe the incidence of syphilis in Brazil and the Goias State in the last 10 years and its relationship with the social distance caused by the pandemic

METHODS

Epidemiological Surveillance

Acquired Syphilis