COVID-19 in persons affected by Hansen’s disease in Brazil
Abstract
Background
Hansen’s disease (HD) is endemic in Brazil, a country with the third highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world and the second highest number of COVID-19 deaths. COVID-19 in persons affected by HD has not been described at population level in this country.
Methods
We collated numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths among patients who were receiving routine treatment for HD at six centres across Brazil (Belém, Bauru, Brasília, Vitória, Petrolina, Palmas) between 1 st March and 10 th December 2020.
Results
Of 1,333 HD patients receiving treatment, 70 (5.2%) reported having had COVID-19. Almost all patients (97% (1,296/1,333)) including all but one of the COVID-19 cases were receiving MDT comprising rifampicin (600mg once per month), dapsone (100mg daily), and clofazimine (50 mg daily plus 300 mg once per month). Four patients died, including a patient in their 30’s on MDT who had a severe type 2 HD reaction (erythema nodosum leprosum) and who was taking clofazimine 100mg daily.
Conclusions
We cannot determine from these preliminary data whether persons affected by Hansen’s disease have a higher or lower risk of COVID-19 and related mortality compared with the general population. We will continue to monitor the effects of COVID-19 in persons affected by and treated for HD and extend this to monitor SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness in this group of patients.
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