TB Might Hit Covid Patients Post Recovery: Watch Out For The Signs And Symptoms - TheHealthSite

Karnataka is launching a door-to-door survey to check the spread of TB among Covid-recovered patients and their family members.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : August 17, 2021 9:14 AM IST

Doctors in India have been witnessing a rise in the number of Tuberculosis (TB) cases predominantly among Covid patients post recovery. With the danger of a possible third wave of Covid-19 still lurking, Karnataka is launching a drive to check the spread of TB that might hit Covid patients post recovery.

According to a statement released by the state health department, a door-to-door survey will be launched to detect the four common symptoms of TB including cough, fever and difficulty in breathing. While Covid and TB present similar symptoms, the later has a longer incubation period and a slower onset time.

A team of healthcare and ASHA workers will be visiting each house with Covid patients as well as Covid-recovered patients, and their family members, primary and secondary contacts will be identified and screened for TB. The survey will be conducted from the PHC level, the statement said.

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TB screening for all Covid patients

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be endemic in India and various other regions of the world. In 2019, an estimated 10 million people fell ill with TB worldwide and a total of 1.4 million people died from the infectious disease, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). India has the largest number of TB cases in the world, followed by Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and South Africa. These 8 countries account for two thirds of the world TB burden. In India, TB kills an estimated 4.8 lakh people every year or more than 1,400 every day, according to the National Strategic Plan for TB Elimination, a government programme that aims to eliminate the disease in the country by 2025.

The Covid-19 pandemic has hampered the efforts to eliminate TB. Due to prolonged intermittent lockdowns, many people could not consult doctors despite developing symptoms. In addition, Covid patients are prone to developing TB, as the latter is an opportunistic infection like the black fungus. Concerningly, the symptoms of TB are also mistaken as that of Covid. Both are infectious diseases that primarily attack the lungs.

Last year, the Union Health Ministry had recommended TB screening for all Covid patients. "The prevalence of TB among COVID-19 patients has been found to be 0.37 4.47% in different studies. But there has been an overall decline in TB notification by 26% during January to June 2020 as compared to previous year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic," the ministry noted in its guideline.

The MoHFW's guidance note on bi-directional TB-COVID screening stated Studies have shown that history of active as well as latent TB is an important risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection. This not only results in increased susceptibility, but also rapid and severe symptom development and disease progression with poor outcomes. Tuberculosis is associated with a 2.1-fold increased risk of severe Covid-19 disease. In addition, TB patients also tend to have co-morbid or living conditions (malnutrition, diabetes, smoking, HIV, etc) that increase their vulnerability. In order to address this dual morbidity of Tuberculosis and Covid-19, the following activities should be carried out:

  • Bi-directional TB-COVID screening
  • TB screening for ILI cases
  • TB screening for SARI cases

Tuberculosis: Causes and symptoms

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. It spreads from person to person through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes. Luckily, TB is curable and preventable. Signs and symptoms of active TB include: coughing for three or more weeks; coughing up blood or mucus; chest pain or pain with breathing or coughing; unexplained weight loss; fatigue; fever; night sweats; chills and loss of appetite.

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