Karnataka, during its campaign for finding Tuberculosis (TB) cases (August 16-31) among recovered Covid individuals (who recovered between January 1 and June 31) and their household contacts has identified 155 TB cases till August 29.
TB was diagnosed in 104 recovered Covid patients and 51 of their household contacts.
The health department may continue the drive after August 31 to cover the rest of the Covid-recovered individuals, but the coverage was a mere 31% till August 29.
During this period, peripheral health workers visited the houses of recovered Covid individuals and asked for TB-specific symptoms. If found symptomatic, sputum samples were collected. The samples were tested in TB PCR labs (Truenat) in all districts of Karnataka.
Covid-19 and TB are respiratory diseases that manifest themselves with similar symptoms of cough, fever and difficulty in breathing.
Studies suggest that the presence or history of TB increases the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and TB co-infection increases the risk of severe Covid-19 disease.
TB/SARS CoV-2 co-infection is associated with rapid and severe symptom development and disease progression, with poor outcomes for both diseases.
Both diseases require early detection and treatment to improve patient outcomes and reduce transmission among contacts and within communities.