Description of the Reach of Schistosomiasis Treatment in Brazil, Between 2012 and 2021

OBJECTIVETo analyze the reach of schistosomiasis treatment in endemic regions of Brazil between 2012 and 2021.METHODOLOGY/DEVELOPMENTData on the number of patients diagnosed with schistosomiasis who required treatment and those who were treated were compared to determine the extent of treatment for patients with the disease in Brazil's endemic regions, specifically the Northeast and Southeast regions. For this purpose, data was collected from the TabNet platform using the following filters on the DATASUS website: tab "Epidemiologies and Morbidity," data "Schistosomiasis Control Program (PCE)," location "Brazil by Region, State, and Municipality," row in "Region," column in "Year," content in "To treat" and "Treated," for the years 2012 to 2021. Data from the most recent 10 years were considered for analysis to provide the most updated values. Tables were generated for better visualization of the data.RESULTS In the 10 years analyzed for schistosomiasis cases in the Northeast region, there were 502,528 patients diagnosed, with only 211,992 considered treated. In total, in this region, there were 290,536 patients (57.81%) diagnosed but not treated from 2012 to 2021, as described in Table 01. In the Southeast region, from 2012 to 2021, 98,712 patients were diagnosed, with only 52,385 treated, leaving 46,327 (46.93%) diagnosed with schistosomiasis but not treated, as described in Table 02.Table 01Source: Self-authoredTable 02Source: Self-authoredOver the analyzed years, there was a decrease in the proportion of untreated cases in the Northeast region by 58.59% and in the Southeast region by 32.23%. However, in 2021, the percentage of untreated patients was still above 30% in both regions. Regarding the absolute number of diagnosed patients, there was a decrease of 93.68% and 96.39% in the Northeast and Southeast regions, respectively, over the 10 years.CONCLUSIONSGiven the difficulty in dispensing certain medications through the public health system and considering that treatment for schistosomiasis is exclusively provided by the SUS (Unified Health System), it is crucial that treatment be made available to all infected individuals, especially in the Brazilian regions considered endemic. According to the analyzed data, over 10 years, the total number of diagnosed but untreated patients was close to 50% in regions deemed endemic for the disease in Brazil.There was a decrease in the absolute number of schistosomiasis cases; however, the number of patients without treatment only dropped by 15 percentage points, remaining around 35% of the patients. Therefore, it is necessary to improve treatment techniques and subsequent follow-up to increase the chances of eradicating the disease in Brazil.