Leprosy Mailing List – August 18, 2020
Ref.: (LML) Lack of MDT in Brazil
From: Claudio Salgado, Belém, Brazil
Dear Pieter,
Last week, the Brazilian Society of Hansen's Disease (SBH) received from its representative in Northeast Brazil, the colleague Francisco Bezerra de Almeida Neto, an important and serious information about the lack of multidrug therapy (MDT) in the country.
The lack of MDT, now officially revealed in the state of Pernambuco, has been reported sporadically in different social media groups that I participate in, at different times in the year 2020 and in different municipalities, including within the closed group of SBH members. What appeared to be restricted to some Brazilian municipalities causes us to anguish now due to the uncertainty of a possible dissemination of the problem to the other States of the Brazilian Federation. Other entities, such as the Movement for the Reintegration of People Affected by Hansen's Disease (MORHAN), also report similar problems in other cities around the country.
Also, according to the Dr. Almeida Neto document, the production of MDT was maintained even during the COVID-19 pandemic, precisely to avoid the lack of MDT for leprosy patients (as disclosed on the web at https://zeroleprosy.org/novartis-kalwe-site-associates-mdt-covid19/). The lack of MDT can cause serious problems not only for the patient itself but also for society in general.
Individually, the untreated patient will evolve with the natural history of the disease to physical disability, perpetuating the stigma of leprosy and prejudice in society, which will be affected by the maintenance of the chain of transmission of the disease. It is also necessary to consider social, economic, emotional, and financial losses due to the lack of medications, not only MDT, but also second-line antibiotics.
While SBH is in solidarity with leprosy patients who are currently not being treated, we request that the Ministry of Health publicly make available the number of drugs scheduled and delivered to the states in 2020. Besides, it is essential to know the quantity in stock and the quantity of MDT or second-line drugs that will still be received or purchased by the Ministry of Health this year. In this way, society can verify whether the quantity is enough, less, or even greater than the needs of each Brazilian state.
Considering the reach of a high number of experts on the Leprosy Mailing List, I would like to ask here if there are other countries with similar problems, and if there is availability of second-line drugs on the many parts of the world where Hansen's Disease is still notified?
Best regards,
Claudio Salgado
President SBH
Full Professor
Pará Federal University, Brazil
LML - S Deepak, B Naafs, S Noto and P Schreuder
LML blog link: http://leprosymailinglist.blogspot.it/
Contact: Dr Pieter Schreuder << editorlml@gmail.com
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