Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the epidemiological weekly report surveillance system of Mexico.

Abstract

Objective: To quantify the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the reporting rate of notifiable diseases in Mexico between 2020-2022.

Materials and methods: Data were obtained from the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin of the Ministry of Health of the Government of Mexico for the period 2014-2022. One hundred thirty-two endemic channels were created by calculating the weekly percentiles 25th, 50th, and 75th for the period 2014-2019. Subsequently, data recorded between 2020-2022 were compared, determining if more or fewer cases were reported than expected. Pre-pandemic data tendency was considered.

Results: The study included 132 diseases from 2014 to 2019, reporting an annual median of 49 947 420 cases. In comparison with the data reported between 2014-2019, there was a decrease in the reported cases of 39.9% in 2020, 19.7% in 2021, and 25.7% in 2022. Thirty-one diseases increased their reporting, while 101 decreased. Of the diseases that increased, seven were sexually transmitted, 13 were infectious, and five were chronic-metabolic.

Conclusions: The pandemic has significantly impacted the landscape of mandatory notifiable diseases in Mexico. The pandemic has led to modifications in the epidemiological trends of disease reporting.