Temporal trends and space-time distribution of leprosy relapse in Brazil from 2001 to 2021.

Background: To analyse the temporal trends and spatiotemporal distribution of leprosy relapse in Brazil from 2001 to 2021.

Methods: An ecological study with a temporal trend approach and space-time analysis of leprosy relapse in Brazil was carried out with data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System.

Results: A total of 31 334 patients who experienced leprosy relapse were identified. The number of recurrent cases tended to increase throughout the study period, and this increase was significant among females and in almost all age groups, except for those <15, 50-59 and ≥70 y. Several clusters of high- and low-risk patients were identified across all regions with a heterogeneous distribution.

Conclusions: The burden of relapse showed an increasing trend in some groups and was distributed in all regions.