IMPACT CAUSED BY THE PANDEMIC ON ARBOVIRUSES IN THE PERIOD FROM 2017 TO 2024, IN THE STATE OF TOCANTINS

Abstract

Brazil has a more accentuated environmental complexity compared to other countries due to its diverse fauna and flora. The geographical and climatic variety creates an environment conducive to the spread of arboviruses, such as dengue, zika and chikungunya, which constitute a public health problem in the country. In addition to vector-borne diseases, in 2019 the pandemic of the new coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease COVID-19, began. Therefore, arboviruses occurred simultaneously with the active transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in endemic areas such as Tocantins. This fact may have interfered in the notification of cases of arboviruses, since preventive measures against the new disease were prioritized, which resulted in a reduction in the population's demand for medical help, in addition to the lack of preparation of health professionals in the differential diagnosis of these pathologies as well as cases of co-infection. In addition, public health measures aimed at preventing arboviruses were to some degree neglected by the lack of home visits by endemic disease control agents. The present study aims to analyze the changes that occurred in the notifications of arboviruses during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the state of Tocantins, when comparing the pre- and post-pandemic notifications. This is an observational, descriptive, and retrospective study that evaluated reported cases of arboviruses from 2017 to 2024 and COVID-19 from 2020 to 2024. The data were collected on the platform provided by the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System and analyzed descriptively. When evaluating the seasonality of arboviruses in the period before the pandemic, as well as during and after it, it is verified that there was a significant reduction in cases reported in Tocantins during the most critical period of the pandemic, a fact that suggests underreporting. Understanding the epidemiological profile of arboviruses is of fundamental importance, especially in the period of incidence of COVID-19, given that both represent significant challenges to epidemiological surveillance, as it enables decision-making based on their knowledge, as an incentive for prevention and control, especially in pandemic periods.